GameSpot is reporting today that publisher Interplay has been shut down by the State of California. Just yesterday CEO Herve Caen said the company was still around even though there were persistent rumors claiming otherwise. But California labor investigators who recently paid a visit to the company found that employees lacked workers' compensation insurance, and some had not been paid in over a month. This has forced the company to shut down for the time being.

As a penalty for its infractions, Interplay was fined $1,000 for each employee on the payroll for a total of $79,000. This sum is in addition to the $179,000 it already owes the state in back taxes and the $432,000 in unpaid rent it owes its landlord, Arden Realty, who is reportedly on the verge of evicting the company. In addition, it is being sued for $156,000 in back Baldur's Gate royalties by BioWare. As of part of its mid-April financial statements, Interplay declared it only had $1.2 million in cash on hand.