Things aren't going too well for Midway and the company has announced that they'll stop publishing games based on two licenses that are currently in their portfolio, one being internally developed and one by a third party.

The press release reads that they've "come to mutually beneficial terms with licensing partners resulting in the cancellation of future versions of related game properties and associated development expenditures.".

Midway also stated that Stranglehold and Wheelman are "wholly owned properties", that they'll continue working on TNA Impact! wrestling games adn that their deal with DC Comics remains in place.

So let's look at what left: Mortal Kombat, Gauntlet, Area 51, and Blitz aren't licensed so they'll not be chopped. NBA Ballers on the other hand is licensed and developed internally so that makes it a prime suspect.

For the third part licensed franchises, Unreal Tournament seems to have the biggest profile, making it a prime candidate for cutting costs, especially as UT3 didn't sell as well as expected and Midway blaming Epic for delays of several titles.

The following quote made by a Midway representative makes it even more possible that Unreal Tournament will be chopped off:

Midway uses the Unreal engine for several games so that could point towards the "keeping strong relationships".

Midway has stated they won't confirm or deny any speculation until their next earnings call early November.

One thing is very clear though: Midway's financials are getting hit severely by this. The agreement to cancel the two licenses will result in almost doubling the losses in the company's third quarter.

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