According to a blog post over at Variety, part of the filings Midway submitted recently regarding compensation and incentive packages for key employees included a request to give compensation to Mortal Kombat co-creator and team lead Ed Boon for his work on Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. From the article:

Ed Boon is the co-creator of "Mortal Kombat" and currently the lead designer for for the fighting franchise at Midway. Though he isn't mentioned by name in the bankruptcy filings, there is extensive discussion of a "key designer" who is "responsible for historically the Debtors’ most successful video game series." Later on it mentions that the series had a new release in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The series is obviously "Mortal Kombat" and the designer is Boon. In this filing, Midway is asking the bankruptcy court to approve continued payment of Boon's bonus plan in order to retain his services, which it claims is "critical to maximizing the value of one of the Debtors’ primary assets" (a.k.a. "Mortal Kombat").

Why? Well, he's in charge of making the "Mortal Kombat" games and also the guy who handles most interviews and publicity. If he were to leave, it would be yet another PR nightmare for Midway and would likely lessen the value of the franchise to a potential buyer.

So how much does Boon get for his work? Well for "performance of new release version of the Video Game in fourth quarter 2008 and first quarter 2009" -- in other words, sales of November release "Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe" in the five months when it will have achieved most of its sales -- the bonus is $900,000. In addition, Boon gets $105,000 for other revenue from the "MK" franchise (older games, movies, etc.) in those two quarters.

It should be noted that the end of the first paragraph mentions a "new release in the fourth quarter of 2009". Considering it states it in the past tense, it is almost certain that "2009" was a typo, and that the author meant "2008". There has been nothing so far to indicate the next Mortal Kombat game will be coming out this year. Despite that, some sites such as Kotaku have stated that the next game is scheduled for Q4 2009. We are getting confirmation from Midway on this matter.

In any event, this should be more evidence that Midway considers Mortal Kombat their biggest (if not only) moneymaker and is doing whatever they can to retain the services of its team lead and public face.

To read Kotaku's report on the blog post (with their own commentary), click here. To read the original Variety post, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for the heads-up on this article!

UPDATE - 9:50 AM CST - We have confirmed with our sources at Midway that the "Q4 2009" date given in the Variety blog posting is a typo. While the next game is in development, Midway has not announced a release date for the next MK game and are refusing to confirm one. Therefore, Kotaku's analysis of the next game's release date is based on incorrect information, and should not be seen as accurate. Our thanks to our sources within Midway for the clarification!

UPDATE - 4:45 PM CST - The original Variety blog post has been edited to correct the typo; it now says, "Later on it mentions that the series had a new release in the fourth quarter of 2008."

As reported earlier, Midway recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Things at Midway have been known to be dire for a while, with signs including mass layoffs and Ubisoft helping publish The Wheelman. Now, Kotaku is reporting on a post made by netDockets that Midway has filed a request to the court seeking permission to implement an incentive plan for upper management employees. This incentive plan, which would be worth $3.7 million USD total, would be paid out in the event certain milestones are met. The Wheelman publishing agreement is one of the milestones. The other two milestones listed are conditional: either submit a plan for reorganization (or a plan for liquidation), or sell off the franchise assets for Mortal Kombat. From the netDockets article:

The motion describes the group of 29 eligible employees as "officers, management-level employees and other non-insider key employees." The proposed plan ties bonus payments to three designated milestones. If all milestones are met, the total bonus pool available for distribution would be $3,755,000. For each milestone payment, each employee eligible to participate in the plan would receive a set percentage of the bonus amount designated for that milestone.

...

2. Milestone: Either (i) execution of an asset purchase agreement for the sale of Midway’s Mortal Kombat franchise assets or (ii) submission by Midway of a plan of reorganization to continue as a going concern. Bonus Amount: $1,292,500.

3. Milestone: The earlier to occur of (i) confirmation of a plan of reorganization or liquidation or (ii) closing of a sale of Midway’s Mortal Kombat franchise assets. Bonus Amount: $1,965,000.

In addition, Kotaku is reporting that one of the ways Midway is seeking to raise the money for the employee incentive is to deny paid time off for laid off employees, which they had originally promised to pay. The report includes letters from Midway both announcing the payment of PTO, and a plan to deny said PTO.

It should be noted that while Midway's filing is not an absolute announcement that Mortal Kombat will be sold off, the company currently has so much debt and so little incoming capital that the chances of Midway reorganizing itself into a manner that will get it out of bankruptcy are looking increasingly dim. We'll continue to keep an eye on this story. As we learn more, we'll report it here.

To read the original netDockets report that mentioned the possible sale of MK, click here. To read Kotaku's report on the plan to deny PTO, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this new development!

Recently, the folks over at IGN posted a series called "The Top 100 Game Creators of All Time". The list is comprised of those heavily involved in game creation, whether from a technical or an artist standpoint. Kicking off the list at number 100 is Mortal Kombat's very own team lead and co-creator, Ed Boon! From the article:

It all started when Midway decided to capitalize on the success of eventual rival Capcom and its blockbuster slugger, Street Fighter II, by creating a unique fighting game of its own. John Tobias and Ed Boon were tapped as the men who could pull it off -- with Tobias handling much of the design and Boon wielding his programmer's wand to create the overnight success, Mortal Kombat.

...

Though John Tobias left the Midway team in 2000, Boon has continued to create and oversee each new Mortal Kombat project. He has reinvented the series from its simplistic roots into a deep, well-rounded fighter that's seen upgrades that include everything from the use of weapons and fully-realized quest modes to online head-to-head match-ups and fighters with dynamically-switching fighting styles -- and audiences continue to eat it up.

To read the entry in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to site members , , , and for letting us know about this news lead!

The struggling video game publisher Midway filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning Kotaku reports.

"This was a difficult but necessary decision," said Midway Chairman, President and CEO Matt Booty. "We have been focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution, and this filing will relieve the immediate pressure from our creditors and provide us time for an orderly exploration of our strategic alternatives. This Chapter 11 filing is the next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure."

Filing for Chapter 11 is not an immediate liquidation of assets, but allows Midway to continue operating for the time being.

We'll keep you updated on this story as more information becomes available. To read the story as it was published click here.

Our thanks to forum user for the lead on this story.

Earlier today, the folks over at Midway issued a press release today announcing that Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe had achieved several milestones. The biggest of these milestones is the fact that the game has shipped over 1.8 million units since the game's release. In addition, the game set an internal record for most pre-sells of any Mortal Kombat title in the series history. Also, according to numbers from GameSpy Technology (which has provided online multiplayer for MK on Playstation titles since MK: Deception), 3.6 million online matches of MKvsDCU have been played on Playstation 3 since the game's release. However, no mention was made of how many matches had been played on Xbox Live.

Also, it was officially confirmed by Midway that work on the next Mortal Kombat game had begun. In a short statement, Ed Boon said, "We're already hard at work on our next version of Mortal Kombat, and look forward to being able to reveal more details in the future." Considering the release schedule of Mortal Kombat titles, it may be several months before anything concrete is seen from the next game. As we learn more, we'll be sure to report it here.

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.