Major assets of long-time RPG producer Iron Crown Enterprise (ICE, to its friends) have been purchased out of bankruptcy and the company is going to be revived.  The intellectual property and inventory associated with ICE properties Rolemaster and Spacemaster were purchased by John R. Seal, a long-time ICE fan, and placed into Aurigas Aldebaron LLC.  Aurigas plans to license those assets to Phoenix LLC, which is owned and operated by former ICE CEO Bruce Neidlinger, as well as former ICE employees Heike Kubasch and Stephen Hardy.  Phoenix plans to begin selling existing inventory and to produce new Rolemaster and Spacemaster products.  The first new releases are expected around the middle of 2002. 

 

According to Neidlinger, the Rolemaster and Spacemaster inventory and intellectual property were acquired by Seal for $78,000.  Real estate owned by the company had previously been sold for $290,000.  Neidlinger also said that Silent Death rights currently reside with Mythic Entertainment and were not part of the sale. 

 

The Middle Earth inventory was destroyed and no  rights remained in ICE.  Neidlinger didn't know what, if anything, would happen to the intellectual property created by ICE for its Middle Earth games.  Decipher currently has the Lord of the Rings RPG license, and plans a two-tier release beginning in December (see 'Decipher Plans Two-Tier LOTR RPG Release').