# Midway Games
**Midway Games, Inc.** was an American video game developer and publisher based in Chicago, Illinois, known for the *Mortal Kombat* franchise and for arcade classics including *Pac-Man*, *Defender*, *NBA Jam*, and *NFL Blitz*.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) • [2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games) Founded in 1958 as a pinball and amusement device manufacturer, the company entered video games in 1973, spent the 1970s as the main American conduit for Japanese arcade titles, and grew into a major coin-op publisher before a long decline ended in a 2009 bankruptcy and the sale of its assets to Warner Bros.[2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games) • [3](https://www.jenner.com/a/web/x2htT5NidzXTqYhbYQLGNY/4HRMZQ/In_re_Midway_Games.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1958 in Chicago as Midway Manufacturing, a pinball and amusement device maker[2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games) |
| First video game | 1973: licensed Atari's Pong and produced its own table-tennis variant, *Winner*[2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games) |
| Signature franchises | *Mortal Kombat* (over 20 million copies sold by 2004), *NBA Jam*, *NFL Blitz*, *Rampage*, *Spy Hunter*, *Cruis'n*[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022080/000104746904007788/a2130470z10-k.htm) |
| Corporate changes | Acquired by Bally, then by WMS Industries in 1988; spun off as an independent company in 1998[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) |
| Atari Games | Acquired Atari Games Corp. from Warner Communications in 1996[5](https://cdn.hackaday.io/files/1649347056536256/History%20of%20Video%20Games-Four%20Decades%20of%20Video%20Entertainment.pdf) |
| Arcade exit | Left the coin-operated business in June 2001, selling arcade assets to Happ Control, Inc.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) • [6](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/analysis-midway-s-tragic-soap-opera) |
| End | Chapter 11 filed February 12, 2009; Warner Bros. bought substantially all U.S. assets for $33 million, sale approved July 1, 2009[3](https://www.jenner.com/a/web/x2htT5NidzXTqYhbYQLGNY/4HRMZQ/In_re_Midway_Games.pdf) • [1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) |
## Origins and the arcade era
Midway [Manufacturing](https://www.edgepedia.org/manufacturing) was founded in Chicago in 1958 as a pinball and amusement device manufacturer. The company began making video games in 1973, taking a license on Atari's Pong and building its own table-tennis machine, titled *Winner*.[2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games)
**Licensing Japanese games.** Through much of the 1970s, Midway's business model was built on licensing and distributing Japanese arcade games for the American market. The company had a close alliance with the Japanese publisher Taito, with the two regularly licensing games to each other for distribution in their respective countries.[2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games) This role made Midway the American publisher of some of the most commercially significant titles in arcade history, including *Pac-Man* and *Defender*.[2](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games)
The company also developed its own games. Brian Colin, a Midway designer who worked on the 1986 game *Rampage*, described deadlines that mattered because the cabinet production line was waiting for the game; the designers' offices sat in the corner of the factory.[7](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/they-werent-planned-out-the-messy-stories-behind-retro-gamings-golden-age)
## Bally, WMS, and the home market
Midway was acquired by Bally, becoming Bally Midway Manufacturing Co. Bally's amusement game divisions were later purchased for $8 million by its main competitor in the arcade industry, WMS Industries of Chicago, and in 1988 the business was reconstituted as WMS Games Inc., quickly renamed Midway Manufacturing Company.[8](https://mail.company-histories.com/Midway-Games-Inc-Company-History.html) • [1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) Midway would not be a separate company again until 1998, when WMS spun it off and it became an independent, stockholder-owned business.[9](https://blackfalcongames.net/?p=105) • [1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/)
**Home publishing.** During a period of uncertainty in home video games, Midway licensed the home rights to its games to [Acclaim Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/acclaim-entertainment) in 1989 rather than publishing them itself.[8](https://mail.company-histories.com/Midway-Games-Inc-Company-History.html) Annual revenues from the home video game business did not surpass those of the arcade business until fiscal year 1996, when management began publishing home versions of its own coin-op games instead of farming the work out to Acclaim.[6](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/analysis-midway-s-tragic-soap-opera) In 1996, while still a subsidiary of [WMS Industries](https://www.edgepedia.org/wms-industries), Midway acquired Atari Games Corp. from Warner Communications, adding the [Atari Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/atari-games) library to its catalog.[5](https://cdn.hackaday.io/files/1649347056536256/History%20of%20Video%20Games-Four%20Decades%20of%20Video%20Entertainment.pdf)
## Mortal Kombat and the 1990s peak
The release of *Mortal Kombat* in 1992 made Midway a dominant force in arcade and console gaming.[10](https://museum.enjoygamejapan.online/en/developers/midway-games/) At the same time, Midway was creating *NBA Jam* (1993), a wildly exaggerated basketball title known for its unrealistic physics, balls that caught fire, and announcer work from Tim Kitzrow.[10](https://museum.enjoygamejapan.online/en/developers/midway-games/) The combined library of Midway and Williams arcade titles, spanning fifteen years of coin-op history, became the foundation for Midway's identity as a publisher and brand custodian.[10](https://museum.enjoygamejapan.online/en/developers/midway-games/)
By its fiscal 2003 annual report, Midway described *Mortal Kombat* as its most successful and profitable franchise, with over 20 million units sold, two television and two film adaptations licensed, and merchandising licenses for toys, clothing, comic books, and strategy guides.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022080/000104746904007788/a2130470z10-k.htm) The company also controlled the intellectual property rights to hundreds of classic titles originally released under the Midway, Williams, and Atari brands, and had released 15 arcade-classics collections for home consoles and nine for handheld platforms.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022080/000104746904007788/a2130470z10-k.htm)
**M-rated leadership.** In the console cycle from 1995 to 1999, Midway led publishers in M-rated (mature-rated) games in dollar sales, unit sales, and number of releases. By fiscal 2003 it had slipped to sixth among publishers of M-rated titles, having developed only four such titles for the current console generation through 2003.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022080/000104746904007788/a2130470z10-k.htm)
## Decline and bankruptcy
As the arcade industry declined, Midway exited the coin-operated arcade game business in June 2001, cutting 60 workers and pivoting entirely to console and PC development. A press release stated the company had "implemented a strategy to focus its product development resources on next-generation home videogame consoles."[6](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/analysis-midway-s-tragic-soap-opera) • [10](https://museum.enjoygamejapan.online/en/developers/midway-games/) In 2001 it sold all of its coin-op assets to Happ Control, Inc.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/)
The company's later years were marked by losses and restructuring. In December 2002 it consolidated operations, terminating 157 employees associated with closing the [Milpitas, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/milpitas-california) studio and consolidating work into San Diego and Chicago; three games in development were canceled.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022080/000104746904007788/a2130470z10-k.htm) Its 2008 financial reports showed losses again, with *Mortal Kombat*, *Unreal Tournament 3*, the *NBA Ballers* franchise, and titles based on the *Happy Feet* movie license cited as high notes.[11](https://media.gdcvault.com/GD_Mag_Archives/GDM_October_2008.pdf) At that time the publisher operated studios in [Austin, Chicago](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-chicago), Los Angeles, Newcastle (U.K.), San Diego, and Surreal Software in Seattle.[11](https://media.gdcvault.com/GD_Mag_Archives/GDM_October_2008.pdf)
**Chapter 11 and sale to Warner Bros.** After closing a number of studios in 2008, Midway filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on February 12, 2009.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) • [3](https://www.jenner.com/a/web/x2htT5NidzXTqYhbYQLGNY/4HRMZQ/In_re_Midway_Games.pdf) In May 2009, Warner Bros. Entertainment entered a stalking horse asset purchase agreement offering $33 million for substantially all of Midway's U.S. assets, including the *Mortal Kombat* franchise and the development studios in Chicago and Seattle. No other bids came, and on July 1, 2009 the bankruptcy court approved the sale to Warner.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) • [12](https://www.deb.uscourts.gov/sites/deb/files/opinions/kg04051009-10465_0.pdf)
## Dissolution and legacy
The asset sale did not preserve the company. Following the acquisition, the Chicago corporate headquarters was closed, as were the Newcastle and San Diego studios; Midway Studios - San Diego was acquired by THQ in August 2009, and Midway Games GmbH was sold to F+F Publishing GmbH, a company owned by two former executives of the German division.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/) • [13](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/midway-newcastle-shuttered-chicago-layoffs-imminent/1100-6213354/) Midway Studios - Newcastle, originally founded as The Pitbull Syndicate Limited in December 1996 and sold to Midway in October 2005, was shut down by Warner Bros. in July 2009 while pitching a new action game called *Necessary Force* to potential buyers.[14](https://www.mobygames.com/company/193/midway-studios-newcastle/) • [15](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/07/midway-closes-newcastle-studio/) The final liquidation of all remaining assets and securities was accomplished in June 2010.[1](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/)
The franchises survived under new ownership. A 2020 analysis of publisher quality found Midway's average Metacritic score stood at 66 percent, alongside THQ at 65 percent, among publishers that went bankrupt.[16](https://www.e-bailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1840008-Bailey_PhD-Dissertation_%E5%8D%B0%E5%88%B7%E7%94%A8.pdf)
## References
1. [Midway Games, Inc. - MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/company/74/midway-games-inc/)
2. [Midway Games - Publishers - Bosnan](https://www.bosnan.net/publishers/midway-games)
3. [In re Midway Games, United States Bankruptcy Court (Jenner & Block)](https://www.jenner.com/a/web/x2htT5NidzXTqYhbYQLGNY/4HRMZQ/In_re_Midway_Games.pdf)
4. [Midway Games Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, SEC](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1022080/000104746904007788/a2130470z10-k.htm)
5. [History of Video Games: Four Decades of Video Entertainment, 1996 in video gaming](https://cdn.hackaday.io/files/1649347056536256/History%20of%20Video%20Games-Four%20Decades%20of%20Video%20Entertainment.pdf)
6. [Analysis: Midway's Tragic Soap Opera, Game Developer](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/analysis-midway-s-tragic-soap-opera)
7. ["They weren't planned out": the messy stories behind retro gaming's golden age, Creative Bloq](https://www.creativebloq.com/3d/video-game-design/they-werent-planned-out-the-messy-stories-behind-retro-gamings-golden-age)
8. [Midway Games, Inc. - Company History](https://mail.company-histories.com/Midway-Games-Inc-Company-History.html)
9. [A History of Midway Games (and related companies), Black Falcon Games](https://blackfalcongames.net/?p=105)
10. [Midway Games - Enjoy Game Japan Museum](https://museum.enjoygamejapan.online/en/developers/midway-games/)
11. [Game Developer, October 2008 (GDC Vault archive)](https://media.gdcvault.com/GD_Mag_Archives/GDM_October_2008.pdf)
12. [Sale Order, In re Midway Games, Delaware Bankruptcy Court](https://www.deb.uscourts.gov/sites/deb/files/opinions/kg04051009-10465_0.pdf)
13. [Midway Newcastle shuttered, Chicago layoffs 'imminent', GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/midway-newcastle-shuttered-chicago-layoffs-imminent/1100-6213354/)
14. [Midway Studios - Newcastle, MobyGames](https://www.mobygames.com/company/193/midway-studios-newcastle/)
15. [Midway closes Newcastle studio, Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2009/07/midway-closes-newcastle-studio/)
16. [Bailey PhD dissertation on publisher Metacritic averages](https://www.e-bailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1840008-Bailey_PhD-Dissertation_%E5%8D%B0%E5%88%B7%E7%94%A8.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Game industry › Publishing, retail, and distribution › Video game publishers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license