Documented cause
Acclaim Entertainment was a major publisher in the 1990s — Mortal Kombat, Turok, NFL Quarterback Club, Shadow Man. By the early 2000s, Acclaim's major releases (Turok: Evolution, Vexx, Legends of Wrestling) received poor reviews and disappointing sales. The company attempted extreme viral marketing stunts — paying UK parents to name their newborns "Turok," offering to pay speeding tickets in exchange for bumper stickers advertising Burnout 2. These attracted media attention but not sales. In September 2004, Acclaim filed Chapter 7 liquidation — not reorganization. The studios (Probe, Sculptured Software, Iguana Entertainment) were dissolved.
Alternative account: Acclaim Entertainment was founded in 1987 and grew into one of the major video game publishers of the 1990s, publishing home console versions of Mortal Kombat (a massive hit), WWF wrestling games, and the Turok dinosaur-hunting series. Revenue peaked at approximately $600M. In the 2000s, Acclaim suffered a series of high-profile commercial and critical failures: Turok: Evolution (2002) was panned; the company controversially offered to pay UK speeding fines to promote Burnout (2001); and Shadowman: 2econd Coming bombed. Acclaim shifted to a GTA-style strategy with the AKA franchise, which also failed. The company could not service debt incurred from development spending and filed Chapter 7 (straight liquidation, not reorganisation) in September 2004. Its IP was auctioned off piecemeal.