Someone using a nickname Miss Money Penny (probably one of the ex-employees) has posted in <a target=_blank href=http://www.gonegold.com/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=007734>this thread[/url] at <a target=_blank href=http://www.gonegold.com>Gone Gold[/url] forum that <a target=_blank href=http://www.strategyfirst.com>Strategy First[/url], the publishers of such games as Prince of Qin, Mistmare, Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire, and the recently announced JA3 and JA3D, is about to follow Interplay into the state of non-existence:

• 
  Strategy First is about to go under.
  Gone from 120 employees to less than ten in less than a year...
  It is too bad. Even though sfi totally reamed the gaming community, they still brought great strategy games that would never have seen the market. I guess they messed up one game launch too many.
  
  Recent departures:
• Director of Marketing: Steve Milburn
• PR and Marketing Manager: Kelly Ekins
• Development: SFI in three rounds of layoffs got rid of their ENTIRE development team … Disciples, ORB, Jagged Alliance.
  
  Staff has not been paid in 1 month and a half.
  
  Nope, no axe to grind. Spent a lot of years, a lot of effort with these guys and they need some help. Nothing political, no bad blood, just keeping you informed as to the realities of this business.
  SFI is as close to an Indie publisher as you are going to get.

Richard Therrien, one of the owners of SFI, has replied in <a target=_blank href=http://www.strategyfirst.com/forum/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=47;t=000064>this topic[/url] in the Strategy First forums:

• SFI is not going under and I have no clue who this guy is.

He has, however, ignored the question from the same thread regarding the lack of payment to the maker of Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire.