"Lights are still on" for Stargate Worlds

Publisher FireSky has said "the lights are still on" for Stargate Worlds and that "development continues", but does admit to being "significantly impacted" by the credit crunch.

"Our official response is that the lights here are still on and the development team is working hard every day to get this game built," wrote FireSky on the Stargate Worlds website. "Team members are in the office seven days a week to deliver Stargate Worlds."

"It's true that the production of Stargate Worlds has been significantly impacted by the greatest worldwide economic downturn in decades, but we are still raising enough money from angel investors to keep the dev team working.

"We are currently negotiating several deals that will cover our financial responsibilities and fund the remainder of development. When we sign those deals, you'll hear about it. Until then, we'll keep building Stargate Worlds, because right now, that's the only thing that matters to us," added the statement.

The comments cap a shaky period for the MMO, which missed its launch window late last year, amid headlines that specially-formed developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment had unpaid bills and was not paying its staff.

Executive producer of the Stargate telly series, Brad Wright, who worked as a creative consultant for the game, nearly nailed the coffin shut on the MMO recently. He said "it should be happening now if it was happening", and that "it's a terrible shame" as the project had the complete backing of the makers of the Stargate TV series.

But, FireSky explained, Wright wasn't aware of the full story: "Brad Wright is the Stargate expert and a creative consultant on Stargate Worlds who advises us on the story; unfortunately we had not recently updated him on our progress or the impact from the current global economic crisis, and he was not fully aware of the continuing progress on our game."

Stargate Worlds is currently accepting beta applications. A launch date is unknown.