GameBanshee let us know they have an interview with Iron Lore's Paul Chieffo on their closure.  Let's start at the beginning:

GB: Iron Lore Entertainment's closure came as quite a surprise, at least to those of us on the outside. What exactly went wrong?

Paul: The short answer is that we were unable to secure a follow on contract to Dawn of War - Soulstorm and were therefore unable to continue as a company. We essentially got caught in the gap between projects, which is always a risk for developers because any potential backend revenue due to royalties comes long after a project ships, if at all, while payroll is needed immediately, of course. So to survive, a developer must bring in a steady stream of projects, and if the gap is slightly too long between the ending of the current project and the start of a new one, you're toast. That's essentially what happened to us. We had a very exciting project we were pitching to publishers and getting a lot of interest in, but late last year several interested parties abruptly dropped out for various reasons. There was still interest from other parties, but we were unable to close a deal with them before the money ran out. 

Here´s the sad news found on Iron Lore´s site:  

It is with great regret that we must announce that as of close of business Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Iron Lore Entertainment has ceased active game development. Several unrelated events occurred which resulted in Iron Lore being unable to secure funding for its next project.

We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has helped us in the last seven years – our team who moved mountains to create such great games, our publisher THQ who has been a great partner through three product development cycles, and most of all our customers and fans. We owe all of the success we’ve had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community.

While Iron Lore will not continue, the talent of the team is embodied in the individuals now available for other opportunities. If you are a developer or publisher looking to hire top-notch experienced developers, please send an email to pchieffo “at” ironlore “dot” com and we will be happy to facilitate recruiting with you.

Iron Lore also owns it’s powerful and flexible engine and tool set, and is actively pursuing licensing opportunities. If you are interested in further information about the technology and licensing options, please contact pchieffo “at” ironlore “dot” com.

ShackNews has posted a pair of interviews with two recently promoted execs from Iron Lore studios, developers of Titan Quest. President Jeff Goodsill and Design Director Steve Martin talk about their backgrounds and the future of Iron Lore:

Shack: How large was the company then? Has Iron Lore expanded since, and do you plan to expand further?

Jeff Goodsill: We started Titan Quest with 10 people and ended with 39 full time developers. Our next project will probably take about 45 on-site staff, plus some outsourced out-of-country art and audio resources. I fully expect any original IP multiplatform game that we build will take 2 to 3 years to develop.

Shack: Any broad hints on the company's direction? Will you be sticking to RPGs as your genre of choice?

Jeff Goodsill: We are expanding into the console market and will probably stick with ARPGs and RTS games. We have a lot of experience in both genres and believe we are well positioned for dual PC and console titles.