if the product isn't at an acceptable point, and it will cost x amount of money and y amount of time, and it's already costing too much to make it worthwhile, i could easily see why they shut it down. it was an extremely inefficient machine that cost more to run than the value of what it could produce.
it wasn't all or nothing. it was a studio taking way too long to be worth continually paying. it turned into a bad investment.