Does anyone here know how Masthead is doing financially? I haven't heard much about Earthrise since it's release, but then I don't really follow MMOs. If Masthead is hurting it's possible Interplay doesn't feel the game can be finished, and in that situation returning the MMO license and accepting cash they could put towards smaller projects would make a lot of sense.
That would be a shame given the work that has been completed on this, and if Interplay returns the license I'm skeptical they can salvage the project. Masthead already has one post-apocalyptic MMORPG, and while working on a second with the Fallout brand made some sense, working on a second with a brand new setting seems unlikely.