Midway has announced the closing of their Chicago Headquarters, and as rumored, also announced the layoffs of all employees within. Likely in the final stages, this move coupled with the layoffs of the San Diego studio as well as the Newcastle, UK studio marks the end of several pieces of the company's history.
A form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlined the scope of the Chicago HQ layoffs, which account for about 20 percent of the remaining global workforce of Midway, which still exists as a company. The form also revealed that, as a result of last week's sale, said company will be writing off $69 million to $76 million in debt: $25 million to $30 million of development costs and $3 million to $5 million of fixed assets--aka items like buildings, which can't be easily liquidated. Midway is also writing down $41 million of impaired goodwill, or the value of assets Midway held that were reduced or eliminated as a result of the Warner Bros. buyout.
This move however will not affect the nearby development studios, which are now the property of Warner Bros. As stated before, WB has acquired most of Midway's assets, most notably the Mortal Kombat franchise and the development studio in which it is created. The 100 or so MK team members will continue work on the tentatively titled Mortal Kombat 9 as scheduled.
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