Starbreeze/Overkill, folkene bak Payday, Riddick, Syndicate, The Darkness og Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, har i et års tid jobbet med et lisensspill basert på The Walking Dead. Nå forteller utviklerne på hjemmesiden deres at de setter både spillet og kommende oppdateringer til Payday 2 på vent, og grunnen er at de må bruke alle ressurser på Cross Fire.
Starbreeze fikk nettopp en investering på rundt 344 millioner kroner fra sør-koreanske Smilegate, og dette var for å lage en vestlig variant av det populære gratisspillet Cross Fire. Dette arbeidet blir tydeligvis prioritert foran alt annet, noe utvikleren forklarer med følgende uttalelse:
Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO:
"The Eastern entertainment market has been an enigma for western game developers and vice versa. This in-depth collaboration uniquely positions Starbreeze and Smilegate to bridge the gap between the two markets. Starbreeze gains an extraordinary market position for our present and future products."
• The leading Korean game company Smilegate has undertaken to invest a total of 40 MUSD (344 MSEK) in Starbreeze, 15 MUSD (129 MSEK) in equity, combined with 25 MUSD (215 MSEK) in a convertible bond.
• Starbreeze receives a 10 year right to develop, publish and distribute an all-new first person co-op game on Smilegate's CROSSFIRE franchise for western markets. CROSSFIRE is the world's largest grossing online first-person-shooter (FPS) game with 500 million users.
• Starbreeze receives distribution rights on the Smilegate platform, and will launch PAYDAY 2 and OVERKILL's The Walking Dead on Asian markets via the platform.
• A representative from Smilegate will be proposed to Starbreeze's Board of Directors.
• Starbreeze to call an Extra General Meeting on February 22 2016 to approve the share issues. The share issues are a prerequisite for the transaction.
