Konami has assured that its Australian release schedule will not see any changes after its distributor, Red Ant, was placed into administration.

Sydney-based Red Ant is one of Australia’s biggest game distributors, and serves a number of large third-party publishers such as Besthesda, Konami, Midway and Capcom.

It had emerged yesterday that the distributor had been placed into administration, sparking concerns that the publishers it serves would not see their software released on scheduled dates.

But a Konami spokesperson assured that its release dates remain on track, explaining to MCV: “As has been widely reported, Red Ant has gone into administration. Konami is currently reviewing its Australian distribution and will not be affected by Red Ant’s unfortunate demise."

“The agreement between Konami and Red Ant was due to commence from February 2009 onwards, with sales yet to start on the agreed titles,” the spokesperson added.

“Konami offers its sincerest sympathies to those affected at Red Ant, but will not be commenting further on the matter.”

Konami had signed an exclusive distribution deal with Red Ant back in November, ending its long-term partnership with previous distributor Atari (due to Namco Bandai acquiring a 34 percent share of Infogrames).

Yesterday Capcom explained to Edge that its Australian release schedule would not be affected from Red Ant’s demise.

Deloitte Touche has been appointed as Red Ant’s administrator, and is working on selling the business as a going concern.