In 2009 GRIN, the studio behind the new Bionic Commando, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Wanted, and Terminator Salvation, closed its doors to the world, citing an “unbearable cashflow situation.” In an interview with Aftonbladet (translated via Kotaku) studio co-founders Ulf and Bo Andersson said that Square Enix reneged on a $20 million deal to develop a new Final Fantasy title codenamed Fortress. Despite meeting all milestones on the project, without the funding from the publisher, GRIN had to file for bankruptcy.
The Anderssons detail a Square Enix becoming increasingly difficult as the project went on. They said that the publisher even once asked them to fax the game’s source code over.
"It is as silly as it sounds," Bo Andersson said. "It is an impossible requirement, you can not send ASCII or binary codes on the fax. It is backward. Really retarded. It was almost a criminal activity."
Square Enix also told GRIN that project milestones had been sent to the wrong division inside the publisher, arguing that they should’ve been filed with the legal department. The publisher also admitted to disliking the Nordic style of the game, despite that being the reason for choosing GRIN in the first place. GRIN decided to test Square Enix one day after determining that the Japanese company wanted the Fortress project to fail.
GRIN sent over an image from Final Fantasy XII, alleging it was from the Fortress prototype. "It does not look like Final Fantasy,” Square Enix replied.
"Then we realized that whatever we do ... they have decided," Bo Andersson said. "We wanted to come in and revolutionize Final Fantasy, which is exactly what they need. The latest version sucks of course."
The final judgment on Final Fantasy XIII may vary from person to person, but there’s no discounting that Square Enix and the Final Fantasy franchise has lost a bit of its luster. Perhaps a shake-up is needed at the publisher to really remember what made the franchise great. Then again, not all of GRIN's titles set the world on fire. Do you think GRIN's Fortress could've brought the magic back to Final Fantasy?
