Better known today as the developer of Skyrim and Fallout, Bethesda once had a well-respected racing game franchise and were deep into development of a licensed Skip Barber Racing title that never released.
Asobo, known today as the Microsoft Flight Simulator developer, created groundbreaking technology for large scale maps that was intended to be used in a high quality rally raid title. It was never released and ended up as FUEL, a post-apocalyptic open-world racing game. What happened?
In quite a surprising move considering the apparent health of Virgin Interactive and their previous work with the publisher, Papyrus today announced their acquisition by Sierra On-line who seem to be looking to make use of their vast development experience in other areas than sim racing. Obviously there’s some concern this may put the genre at-risk, but the statement posted below seems to indicate otherwise.
Posted by Papyrus on their Bulletin Board:
SIERRA ACQUIRES PAPYRUS
Sierra On-Line Inc. acquired Papyrus Design Group Inc., the developers of NASCAR Racing and Indy Car Racing.In 1996 Papyrus plans to release 6 titles with Sierra including additional motorsport simulations and Sony and Sega game platform conversions. Papyrus will also begin developing non-sports titles, branching into other product categories, in ’97. Sierra officials say that all of Papyrus’ R&D employees, 75 out of a total of 100, will keep their jobs.
No decisions have been made on the remaining 25. Papyrus will continue the development of its multiplayer online gaming service.
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