AVault rapporterer, at Looking Glass Studios, selskabet bag titler som Thief 1/2 og System Shock 2, lukker på grund af økonomiske problemer.

Ifølge en temmelig overraskende rapport på AVault, er Looking Glass Studios lukket på grund af økonomiske problemer.

Looking Glass står bag titler som Thief 1/2 og System Shock 2, spil der alle har udmærket sig ved at være anderledes og nytænkende indenfor FPS. Er AVaults unavngivne kilde til at stole på, har salget dog ikke været nok til at holde virksomheden oven vande, og ifølge samme kilde skulle Thief 2 Gold og Thief 3 være droppet med umiddelbar virkning.

De næste par dage vil vise, om rapporten er autentisk, men er det tilfældet, er det absolut et tab.

[Opdatering d. 25/5/00 kl. 11:35]

Blues News har modtaget følgende brev fra Randy Smith, tidligere designer på Looking Glass:

Hello LG Fans,
Yes its true, Looking Glass has gone out of business. Our office is closing tomorrow. I’m sure that this effects me as much as anybody, since as a fan and then as an employee, Looking Glass has always been my favorite company in the games industry. Dedicating myself to the Thief projects has meant a lot to me, and we had high hopes for Thief 3 and other projects beyond. I’m going to deeply miss Looking Glass and my brilliant, fun co-workers. I don’t think the industry will ever be quite the same.

I want, on a personal level and on behalf of Looking Glass, to extend heartfelt appreciation to TTLG. Knowing that you guys were out there, watching and appreciating our efforts, has truly fueled our work. The things that you’ve accomplished on your sites are amazing, and knowing that it’s all about us – Looking Glass and it’s fans – is mindboggling. I slept on the floor of Doug Church’s office for 13 days in a row during the making of Thief 2. I was working to make the game better, which I might not have done if I didn’t know for certain that someone was going to notice. You owe a part of Looking Glass’s products to yourselves, and we’ve been both proud and appreciative.

In particular, I want to thank Dan Todd and Saam Tariverdi for starting TTLG. Beyond them, there are too many names to mention, so consider yourselves thanked.

Sincerely,
Randy Smith, former LG designer and forever an LG fan

ps. Sadly, there is a low chance that Thief 3 will ever see the light of day, and its even less likely that if it did, a majority of LG folks would be involved. I hope I’m wrong, but I think that’s the sad truth. But just so you know, we were going to do this whole cool open-ended, self-directed city thing, where you get to wander around the city and steal at your leisure, until, of course, Garrett gets mixed up in crazy affairs that draw him into a larger plot. You guys, in particular, would have loved it, I bet. And, yea, it was gonna be about the Keepers. Good guess.

Det er altså nu officielt, at Looking Glass Studios ikke længere eksisterer.