As another week grinds by, the saga continues. Midway may find salvation in the waiting arms of Warner Bros., but unfortunately, it would seem that salvation does not extend to the Newcastle and San Diego studios. As a result, both studios are faced with the possibility of shutting down...

...that is, unless someone steps up to the plate and is willing to buy them. But is it too late for that?

"If I had 100,000 pounds for every time someone said, 'a year ago we would have bought you,' I could buy the studio personally," says Newcastle President Craig Duncan, to The Guardian.

Such reluctance seems to be attributed to the current state of the economy, and Duncan feels it would truly be a shame if the worst came to pass. "It may sound like a football cliche but this studio is too good a team to have to shut down - it would be a travesty."

However, he is not giving up. "100 percent of my efforts and focus are on finding a solution to keep the studio going forward, making it viable and securing jobs in the team."

Elsewhere at Newcastle, the development team is hard at work on Necessary Force, described by Develop as an open-world detective game. It sounds like an interesting concept, and would be a shame if it didn't reach completion because the studio was shuttered.