Interplay, a long-troubled game publisher and one-time developer, has seemingly hit the end of the road and is now selling its entire library of "video game assets and intellectual property," which marks the final nail in the coffin for a company that was a powerhouse in the gaming industry from the late 80s to the early 00s.

The last few years have been difficult for Interplay. It has involved multiple lawsuits, which have included the loss of several of their prized IPs such as Baldur's Gate, and Fallout to other companies. Over the last year, they attempted to crowdfund some of their old IPs in some campaigns, the only one that was a success was Descent where they licensed out the IP to another studio, and where the lack of payments to them for sales of the previous games in the series had them pull it down from store shelves.

Included below is a statement from Eric Caen, the President of Interplay.

"Interplay has entertained millions of players with its well-recognized games, including Earthworm Jim, Freespace, Giants, Kingpin, Messiah, MDK, Run Like Hell, Sacrifice, Battle Chess, Clayfighter, Dark Alliance, and Descent. As game creators, we are proud of the entertainment these properties have provided over the years. With the proliferation of mobile, augmented reality, virtual reality and other new forms of consumption, we believe that consumers are ready to experience and interact with Interplay's characters, stories and gameplay in ways never possible before. We look forward to seeing how this unique portfolio of interactive entertainment icons will evolve for the worldwide audience," states Eric Caen, President of Interplay.

Quick Take:

While this is a sad but expected scenario for the struggling company, the prospect of Interplay selling all its marketable assets creates an intriguing picture. While mobile games, augmented reality, and virtual reality all seem like corporate buzzwords for the aforementioned quote, the idea of playing Battle Chess, Sacrifice, and Dark Alliance (along with all its other franchises) in virtual and augmented reality is compelling. For me, Dark Alliance 1 and 2 are probably the best console-exclusive ARPG's ever produced, so even an HD re-release on Steam with online multiplayer would be very exciting. Overall, while I'm sorry to see the end of Interplay, I'm happy to see that these languishing franchises will finally break free of their underfunded shackles.

What do you think of this news? Are you excited for a potential sequel to your favorite Interplay franchise? Let us know in the comments!