38 Studios is officially no more. WPRI.com reports that on Thursday, the game developer behind the fantasy RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That means the company will close down and its assets would be liquidated.
The company, founded by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, received a $75 million loan from the state of Rhode Island in 2010. However, in May the company got hit with financial problems that ultimately resulted in all of its employees being laid off. In this week"s bankruptcy filing, 38 Studios says it owes $150.7 million to 1,079 creditors, with the single largest debt being $115.9 million owed to the state of Rhode Island.
With the bankruptcy filing, 38 Studios can now sell off its assets, including the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and its proposed MMO game, Project Copernicus. It"s possible that one or more game developers or publishers could buy the rights to these games.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials in Rhode Island have also launched a criminal investigation into 38 Studios. Rhode Island State Police Col. Steven G. O’Donnell stated, "Everything is on the table. Rhode Island Institutions, banks, anybody federally insured and any venture capital money that has come into the company."
Schilling has mostly stayed silent about what happened to 38 Studios. He did offer some public comments a few weeks ago, claiming that the state of Rhode Island had broken promises to the company, which the state"s governor has denied.
Source: WPRI.com