After the recent series of shakedowns that has happened with Midway, word has been going around that the company may have to shut down its UK based studio Newcastle, subsequently putting development of its upcoming action shooter - The Wheelman - on hold. However, interim CEO Matt Booty squashed these unfounded rumors and confirmed that they had no plans of doing so.

In a talk with GamesIndustry.biz, Booty was quoted having said that Wheelman was going to be an important front line game for the company in the first half of 2009. He also had this to say regarding their commitment to their UK studio:

Newcastle is a very important studio for us. We just brought in a new studio head, Craig Duncan, formerly with Codemasters, so I think those two things are an indication that we've got a very strong commitment to that studio.

With that said, the UK studio will continue its work on Wheelman, an action title for the PC, Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, which "stars" Vin Diesel playing the role of the main protagonist.

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