Following the sale of most of Midway to new owner Warner Bros., Midway Newcastle was shuttered, its staff given their walking papers. The Wheelman developer never found a buyer for the now defunct studio, nor its original IP, Necessary Force.
Steven Pick, senior GUI artist for Midway Newcastle's Wheelman, gives a painful blow-by-blow of the studio's final days. From the start up on cop drama Necessary Force to its multiple, failed pitches to numerous studios to the final visit Midway CEO Matt Booty, himself axed not long after giving last rites to Midway Newcastle.
Pick doesn't offer a great deal of hope for Necessary Force to ultimately see release, but does touch on the positive impact the in-development open world game had on Midway Newcastle, even if it didn't save the developer. At this point, only UK outlet Edge has seen Necessary Force in action, outside of the development team and a few unnamed publishers.
Hopefully we haven't seen the last of it. It looked interesting—small things, like Necessary Force's moral choices affecting the weather and time of day, for example—if a bit familiar.
I'd highly recommend reading Pick's account of the last days of Midway Newcastle. He paints a sobering picture of the developer's demise, one very humanizing and informative.
Midway Newcastle R.I.P. [Embittered Mutterings]