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.
The collapse of 38 Studios has put the state of Rhode Island in a precarious position. The government offered substantial loans to Curt Schilling's company. Following its bankruptcy, fingers were pointed: who's to blame?
A lengthy feature on The New York Times details the rise and fall of 38 Studios, and how both parties involved bit off more than they could chew. Schilling didn't properly anticipate the challenges of game development, let alone MMORPG creation. Rhode Island, eager to reinvigorate its economy with tech jobs, dove head-first into an investment that had "red flags" from the get-go.
38 Studios is deceased in all but name, but at least Curt Schilling's failed video game start-up won't be facing federal criminal charges. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office has said that it is not planning to pursue any further federal action against the company.
Free-to-play is quickly becoming the de facto standard for MMORPGs, as more and more high-profile games either adopt the model from the start or eventually relent. The now-canceled Project Copernicus was in development for a long time, so many of us thought it would have been a subscription game a la World of Warcraft--but 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling says the game was going to be free-to-play after all.
The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. have been given court approval to take 38 Studios' assets. These assets include the former studio's intellectual property, which Rhode Island and BNY Mellon Trust plan to sell to recoup money still owed on 38 Studios' $75 million loan. BNY Mellon Trust was the trustee on the loan.
38 Studios founder Curt Schilling may be "tapped out," but Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee isn't easing up on the former ball player. He recently told local reporters that time and examination will show that he is not responsible for the collapse of the company, and he says he wants "to get every taxpayer dollar back that we possibly can."
Many questions remained after the demise of 38 Studios, the troubled gaming company founded by baseball legend Kurt Schilling. The developer had an incredibly ambitious MMO in the works, codenamed Copernicus. But why was so little of it ever shown before the company's closure?
It could be that the game, simply put, wasn't meeting Schilling's standards. "The game wasn't fun," the former studio head admitted. "It was my biggest gripe for probably the past eight to 12 months."
Despite the collapse of 38 Studios, EA hasn't given up on the Kingdoms of Amalur franchise. Despite reports to the contrary, the company claims it's open to publishing a sequel. Of course, that relies on a sequel actually happening.
With 38 Studios shut down by massive debts, we'll never get to play its Kingdoms of Amalur MMORPG codenamed Project Copernicus. However, leaks have given us screenshots and, now, a trailer, so if we squint real hard we can perhaps pretend.
Most of the dust has settled on the 38 Studios collapse. Looking back, co-founder and public face of the company Curt Schilling has shared some thoughts on what went wrong. For one thing, when the company started to go into dire straits, Schilling says he was "tapped out" and couldn't afford to put any more into it.
The tragic tale of 38 Studios just keeps getting worse. On top of the developer declaring bankruptcy and an employee's wife revealing details about the company's last days, co-founder Curt Schilling is being sued by Citizen's Bank to recover millions of dollars in loans he guaranteed for the studio.
We've heard plenty of legal details in the saga of 38 Studios' closure, most recently as the company formally declared bankruptcy. It's easy to feel distant from finances and legal matters, but a new first-hand perspective hits on the emotions around the studio's money woes.
In a move that seemed inevitable, 38 Studios has finally declared bankruptcy. To make matters worse, various state and federal agencies have reportedly launched an investigation into the company in light of recent events surrounding its money woes.
Read more: Studio 'unable to find a solution to the current stalemate' »
Big Huge Games, developer of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, was essentially shuttered when parent company 38 Studios laid off its entire staff. Much of the staff has since been reacquired by Epic Games to form a new studio: Epic Games Baltimore.
"The way we see it, there's been a big storm in Baltimore, and we're taking in a few of the refugees," Epic president Mike Capps said in a letter to Epic employees. "Epic's in a situation where we can do this, and it very clearly fits with our company values, so we're going to give it a whirl."
A sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was in "pre-production" before developer Big Huge Games was effectively shut down late last week due to parent company 38 Studios' financial struggles. As expected of a sequel, it would have built upon the base established by the first game. Improvements were sought in graphics, more branching quests, and no loading screens.
"MONDAY: We talk to the programmer who prepared the video games for sale. "
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