Interplay's Fallout MMO In Jeopardy News

According to an Interplay financial report, Bethesda has notified the publisher that it intends to terminate the licensing agreement between the two parties that would allow Interplay to develop a Fallout MMO.

Interplay had previously reserved the right to develop a Fallout MMO when Bethesda originally acquired the Fallout license from the publisher in April 2007. However, legal caveats in the contract stated that Interplay's MMO must be in full-scale development within two years, while the game's release must be within four years and Bethesda would then receive 12% of Interplay's revenues from subscription fees and sales of the MMO.

Although no formal litigation procedures have been set in motion and Bethesda only seems to have notified Interplay of its intentions at this stage, Bethesda is nevertheless claiming that Interplay is in breach of these licensing agreements according to the financial report.

Interplay "adamantly disputes these claims", although we're yet to get even the faintest sniff of a Fallout MMO in development under the Interplay banner. Project V13, as the Fallout MMO has been dubbed, is either under a particularly impenetrable media blackout or it's just not in full-scale development.

Interplay originally projected a 2010 release for the MMO when Bethesda acquired the license for $5.75 million (£3.85 million), which could be considered a snip given the subsequent success of Fallout 3 and Bethesda's intention to develop further Fallout titles.