Brash Ent., a video game publisher that specializes in licensed movie properties, has reportedly fallen on hard times. Daily Variety reports that the company has laid off 20 employees and may have to give up some of its licenses due to financial woes.
Brash was once a promising new company that established long-term partnerships with leading Hollywood studios including Lions Gate Films, Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising, Universal Studios Licensing, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Vanguard Animation. The entity produced games based on Vanguard’s Space Chimps and the upcoming Universal toon feature The Tale of Despereaux.
Signs of trouble first appeared with the recent departure of Brash co-founder and Legendary Pictures chairman Thomas Tull and other execs. The company launched with a considerable amount of private equity and snatched up more than 40 licenses, quickly putting 12 games into production. Now management needs to find new sources of funding or sell off its assets.
Of all the titles in development at Brash, only two are confirmed for release. Six Flags Fun Park will hit stores in December and a game based on the Saw horror films is expected to debut next year. The company has been working on games based on Superman, Prison Break, Night at the Museum 2, Clash of the Titans and 300.
