Next Generation is reporting that Stormfront Studios, the developer behind the original Neverwinter Nights and movie-licensed titles including Eragon and The Spiderwick Chronicles, is shutting its doors after nearly 20 years of operation.
A sullen rep for Stormfront explained in a phone interview Tuesday the reason for the closure. "Frankly, we didn't get pitched, and the project [we were working on] made no revenue."
The rep added, "The economy is such that the projects that we weren't winning, ended."
The 33 employees at Stormfront learned of the news on Monday.
The company was founded and run by Don Daglow, formerly of Electronic Arts and Intellivision. Since his resume reads like an encyclopedia entry, we expect to hear about a new Daglow venture in short order.
Stormfront was perhaps best known for its 2002 movie-to-game adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which was almost universally praised for high production values and won the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering at a time when movie adaptations were typically panned.
UPDATE April 2nd, 9:20PM: Don't cross off Stormfront Studios yet -- it looks they're still up and kicking. Our reporter Jesse Henning has the full story.
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