Stargate MMO developer goes bankrupt

Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, the studio making the Stargate Worlds MMO, has succumbed to bankruptcy and called in the receivers, according to an open letter to shareholders on its website (thanks, Voodoo Extreme).

Stargate Worlds was recently sidelined in favour of a cut-down multiplayer shooter called Stargate Resistance. According to the statement, that game - which was launched last month - has been sold to a new company called Fresh Start Studios. Fresh Start Studios has been set up by Cheyenne shareholders "in an effort to preserve the game and prevent it from going offline because they felt there was no other alternative", says the statement.

This must be the final nail in the coffin of Stargate Worlds, however. "With regard to actual operations, game development has ceased. Not to be redundant, but there are no employees," says the statement bluntly.

Cheyenne Mountain has been suffering funding problems since late 2008, when a website appeared claiming employees hadn't been paid.

The saga had devolved to the extent that there was confusion over who was in control over the company, but as the statement concludes, this is "a moot point at this particular point in time because the Receiver has been placed in control".