Grin, Developer of Bionic Commando, Closing Down

Grin is the latest casualty in the rising costs of game development. The development studio headquartered in Sweden is closing down for good. Grin was founded in 1997. Their first title was Ballistic on the PC in 2001. In 2002, Grin ported their first game to arcades with a special cabinet setup. Afterwards, they developed Bandits: Phoenix Rising on the PC in 2003. Throughout the next several years, Grin was charged with porting Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (2006) and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (2007) to the PC.

After numerous projects, Grin decided to start development on the two high-definition home consoles, the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. In 2008, they released Bionic Commando Rearmed on the PC, Playstation Network of Playstation 3 and Xbox Live Arcade of the Xbox 360. The downloadable title is an enhanced remake of the classic arcade game. Bionic Commando Rearmed got positive reviews and went on to become one of the best-selling downloadable games ever.

Grin seemed to be on the rise as they also managed to score several big contracts with publishers regarding big movie licenses. The first of which was Wanted: Weapons of Fate in March 17, 2009. The PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 title is the official game to the popular action movie. Although Wanted: Weapons of Fate was decent, it was released nearly a year after the movie. As a result, it failed to capitalize on the hype of the film and ended selling well short of expectations.

Grin decided to not take chances with their next movie-licensed game, Terminator Salvation on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. This time, they were able to launch the official game at around the same time when the movie opened on May 19, 2009. However, the quality took a hit because Terminator Salvation was rushed to shelves. Because of the bad reviews, many consumers chose to avoid the game. Terminator Salvation did not sell all that well as a result.

Their third 2009 title from Grin was a next-generation rebirth of Bionic Commando on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. While they have tremendous success with the downloadable title, the retail version was a totally different undertaking. Unfortunately for them, their latest title preformed well below expectations when it was released May 19, 2009.

Having to release three high-profile multiplatform games in a short span is a daunting task. When all three big budget games failed to sell on the market, Grin was in some serous financial trouble. So despite their short rise to fame, the up and coming development studio has quickly gone defunct.