Midway Newcastle has been closed (Update)

[Update: We dropped the ball on this one, folks. We apologize. Look below for a totally different story. We apologize.]

One of the studios left behind in the Midway Games/Warner Bros. Interactive deal, Midway Newcastle, was closed this morning. Midway CEO Matt Booty went to the UK-based studio this morning, delivered the grim news to the 80 or so employees currently working at the Midway branch.

In a statement given to Kotaku, Midway spokesman Geoffrey Mogilner said Midway was unable to get a suitable buyer for the studio in the timeframe allotted.

“We can confirm we closed the Newcastle studio this morning, our time,” Mogilner said. “During the notification period we were actively searching for bidders, and since we didn’t find any unfortunately it was necessary to close it down.

Warner possesses the rights to Wheelman, a former Midway Newcastle IP, but the publisher doesn’t own the rights to Necessary Force, a game the UK-studio recently revealed. Currently, Necessary Force doesn’t have a buyer.

[via Kotaku]