Spiess is currently keeping his plans closely under wraps. Indeed, one or two parts of the deal are still to complete – but it’s not likely to fall through given Midway’s bankrupt state (most assets now belong to Warner, the rest closed or jettisoned via fire sale).

MCV will have more details on what this new organisation will do in the coming weeks, but under Spiess’ auspices it has a promising future. A widely respected figure in the trade, he’s often described as having ‘worked for Company X when it was good’ – where ‘Company X’ can be Virgin, Atari or Midway. Under him, Midway Europe was the crown jewel of the publisher’s operation.

Who said that European publishing was dead?