The Bard's Tale 4 comes out tomorrow, and if it's a big hit, inXile Entertainment boss Brian Fargo said on Twitter that he'll celebrate by trying to buy back Interplay, the studio he co-founded back in the early '80s.
I'm asked what would we do if Bard's Tale 4 PC is a big hit.How about this stretch goal. I will attempt to buy Interplay back if we manage to sell over 2 million units in the first 18 months.@wouldntthatbeawesomeSeptember 17, 2018
And in case you were curious, yes, he is serious about it. "I certainly am," he told Variety. "My fans have been requesting me to bring back my old Interplay games for years and this would be the most amazing way to make that happen."
Interplay was a top-notch outfit in its prime, developing or publishing games including The Bard's Tale trilogy, Wasteland, Neuromancer, Descent, Battle Chess, Freespace, and Fallout. Recent years (say, post-2000) haven't been as kind, however. 2014 Kickstarter campaigns for Battle Chess and a Freespace-based board game both failed badly, for instance, although Battle Chess did eventually make it to Steam. Aside from that, it's been focused primarily on re-releasing old properties like Evolva and MAX 2.
Even if Bard's Tale 4 is a hit, the whole thing hinges on Interplay's willingness to sell. Fortunately for those who'd like to see it happen, Interplay has previously expressed an interest in doing just that: In 2016 the company announced a plan (which as far as I know never went anywhere) to sell its entire portfolio. That's not quite the same as selling the entire company, but it's close enough to make for a good starting point. I've reached out to Interplay for comment and will update if I receive a reply.
