When the now-defunct developer GRIN closed its doors, the company’s co-founders cited the cause of publishers that had “been delaying their payments, causing an unbearable cashflow situation.” Additionally, the developer of games like Bionic Commando and Terminator Salvation had referenced an “unreleased masterpiece” it wasn’t “allowed to finish.”
Our sources had indicated to us last week that one of the publishers in question was, surprisingly, Square Enix. In fact, the publisher is said to have owed GRIN payments upwards of a few million dollars. The project? An action title based in the world of Final Fantasy — more specifically, Final Fantasy XII. Hard to believe, right?
Now, a handful of resumes and portfolios have been dug up on the Internet that seem to confirm what we had heard, referencing and showing concept art from a canceled GRIN-developed project for Square Enix called “Fortress.” superannuation, who unearthed the information, connected some dots — “Fortress” appears to be a working title for the Final Fantasy game our sources had told us about.
With GRIN out of the picture and Square Enix apparently unwilling (or unable) to continue funding such a project, we’ll probably never know for sure. Unless someone wants to start talking; we’re all ears.
