38 Studios and Big Huge Games lay off entire staffs

It appears 38 Studios is nearing the end of its very public death march. New reports today show that 38 Studios, and its subsidiary Big Huge Games, have laid off their entire staffs.

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It appears 38 Studios is nearing the end of its very public death march. New reports today confirm that 38 Studios, and its subsidiary Big Huge Games, have laid off their entire staffs. While the closure of any studio is unfortunate, the termination of 38 Studios will have dire consequences for the taxpayers of Rhode Island.

38 Studios and Big Huge Games worked on the recently-released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Their next project was supposed to be an MMO, codenamed Project Copernicus.

However, it seems unlikely that game will ever see the light of day. Both The Verge and Joystiq have received notices that staffs for both companies have been laid off. Numerous studios have already gone on Twitter with hashtag #38jobs, offering condolences and potential job offers.

Big Huge Games was at risk of closing before 38 Studios acquired the team. Ultimately, the partnership would be short-lived.

It's unfortunate that 38 Studios' last update on their website was entitled "A World Worth Saving." With these recent developments, it seems unlikely that sentiment will come to fruition.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    May 24, 2012 1:55 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, 38 Studios and Big Huge Games lay off entire staffs.

    It appears 38 Studios is nearing the end of its very public death march. New reports today show that 38 Studios, and its subsidiary Big Huge Games, have laid off their entire staffs.

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      May 24, 2012 2:03 PM

      This is sad. Can't they go after that head guy who probably stole all the monies?

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      May 24, 2012 2:06 PM

      Lame. Hope nobody gets super screwed out of this deal. Hope all my positive feeling about Curt Schilling aren't shattered like bitter dreams.

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        May 24, 2012 2:11 PM

        I think alot of people are getting screwed. It's pretty bad all around.

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        May 24, 2012 2:24 PM

        Last week's Weekend Confirmed had a good discussion about this whole thing. From my understanding, on top of all these people losing their jobs, the Rhode Island taxpayers look to be on the hook in the event of a loan default. So yes, a lot of people are super screwed.

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        May 24, 2012 4:34 PM

        Schilling is coming off like a real heel in all of this, so brace yourself.

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        May 24, 2012 7:41 PM

        You mean other than the constituents of Rhode Island?

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        May 24, 2012 8:42 PM

        Tax Payers

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      May 24, 2012 2:09 PM

      i guess rhode island ain't getting their money back

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      May 24, 2012 2:09 PM

      First my best wishes go for the employees getting let go... then for the gamers who fell in love with the game (like myself)... sucks we may not see anything more from the franchise, especially that beautiful MMO they were working on :(

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      May 24, 2012 2:15 PM

      What the hell? Seriously... the screenshots released today are just a dagger twisting in my heart now.

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      May 24, 2012 2:37 PM

      Call Obama! Get a BAILOUT!

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      May 24, 2012 2:38 PM

      Rich Gallup :(
      Maybe he'll go to Giant Bomb.

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        May 24, 2012 2:47 PM

        :o I forgot about Rich Gallup
        He was such a good host on On the Spot

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      May 24, 2012 2:42 PM

      I'm confused as to why the consequences are dire to the taxpayers. This whole story confuses me, in fact.

      It's a shame; Amalur was a really fun game.

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        May 24, 2012 2:52 PM

        Rhode Island state floated them a huge loan (100m I think?) to help them out, they'll be defaulting on that.

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          May 24, 2012 2:54 PM

          Load was 75 m but the interest means RI will be on the hook for 112m.

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        May 24, 2012 3:07 PM

        [deleted]

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      May 24, 2012 2:49 PM

      Bummer :(

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      May 24, 2012 2:50 PM

      Big Huge made Rise of Nations didn't they? ;(

      I fucking love that game.

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      May 24, 2012 3:02 PM

      I wouldn't doubt that this will probably spawn several new Kickstarters.

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        May 25, 2012 9:16 PM

        Hahahahahhahahahahahah

        /breathes


        HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

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      May 24, 2012 4:05 PM

      [deleted]

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      May 24, 2012 4:09 PM

      Man, KofA was the touch of death for everyone :(

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        May 24, 2012 4:23 PM

        Was it bad?

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          May 24, 2012 4:41 PM

          No, just cursed. They shouldn't have setup the studio on an old Wampanoag Nation grave site.

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      May 24, 2012 4:33 PM

      That sucks for all the staff, however Curt Schilling you suck and I hope this failure haunts you for the rest of your life.

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        May 24, 2012 4:37 PM

        The way they've treated their employees through all of this is disgusting and inexcusable.

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          May 24, 2012 4:39 PM

          I have no idea what he did. My hate comes from the Yankees losing to him in 2004, ketchup sock and all.

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      May 24, 2012 4:41 PM

      Sucks, my buddy works there.

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      May 24, 2012 5:14 PM

      Fuck 'em.

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      May 24, 2012 5:50 PM

      great now I need to finish my degree and get the hell out of RI

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      May 24, 2012 7:40 PM

      Fuck. Just fuck.

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      May 24, 2012 8:19 PM

      save rise of nations! :(

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      May 24, 2012 8:43 PM

      Tragic, I am so mad and sad for this the team they had skillz I really enjoyed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. I hope they all find jobs and some how there ip's can keep living on in some form.

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      May 24, 2012 8:44 PM

      GG Rhode Island....

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      May 25, 2012 9:52 AM

      Best wishes to those who lost their jobs. Hopefully everyone eventually lands on their feet and finds work quickly, elsewhere. No one wants to see their time and dedication go down like this scenario.

      My question now is; how many states will look at this situation and never give this idea a shot in the future? I would guess there are a lot of politicians that have little to no understanding of the gaming industry, and something like this will be held up in front of every vote or decision toward a similar situation moving forward. Disappointing.

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