Rhode Island looking to sell Amalur intellectual property

The storied saga of 38 Studios' closure seems all but finished, with only a few loose threads left to tie up. One of those is what the state of Rhode Island will do with its stake in the properties, and the state is now reportedly planning to sell off the Amalur franchise. An attorney says that Rhode Island has found an interested party.

"Who knows what the value ultimately will be," attorney Richard J. Land of Chace Ruttenberg & Freedman told the Providence Journal (via GameSpot). "But there is interest in the assets."

Land gave no word on who the interested party might be. We do know that EA expressed interest in the franchise last year, but that's no guarantee that the publisher is the unnamed party now.

Rhode Island hit an estimated $130 million in debt when 38 Studios closed. Meanwhile, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter estimated the Amalur IP at around $20 million. If he's correct, this sale would not recoup some of the cost of the gamble, but not anywhere close to all of it.

The Journal also notes that on Wednesday, a hearing will begin in the case against 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling and other executives. Though U.S. Attorney's office decided not to pursue federal charges, a suit from the state alleges that the defendants were not forthcoming when they started to notice red flags. It alleges 17 counts including fraud, civil conspiracy, legal malpractice, negligent misrepresentation, and fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions.

Schilling himself has said he's tapped out from the collapse of the company, but bit back at the state by accusing Governor Lincoln Chafee of scaring off potential investors. The governor disagrees.