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Big Huge Games lives again with original founder, mobile strategy
Big Huge Games, known for PC strategy games such as Rise of Nations and the RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, was a casualty of 38 Studios' financial troubles in 2012 and its bankruptcy in 2013. 38 Studios closed Big Huge Games in 2012 and sold off its properties for $320,000 in December 2013. Turns out, the original Big Huge Games founder, Brian Reynolds, is the one who picked up those IPs. He's been operating under the studio name SecretNewCo (which really should have been a hint to the rest of us) since 2013, and now Big Huge Games is back with its first game, a mobile, empire-building strategy title called DomiNations. It will be published by Nexon. Prior to re-launching Big Huge Games, Reynolds was Chief Designer at Zynga, and before that he co-founded Civilization studio Firaxis Games. In between, he helped found Big Huge Games the first time around. Reynolds is now CEO of the shiny, new Big Huge Games. "We're honored to continue the legacy of Big Huge Games, which we founded on the concept of making fun, beautiful and innovative gameplay experiences on mobile devices," Reynolds says in a press release. "Nexon is lending us its proven free-to-play expertise in pursuit of that goal, and we can't wait to show players what we've created together." DomiNations allows players to craft empires from the stone age to the space age, with single-player and co-op modes. It's free and due out on iOS and Android devices in 2015.
Big Huge Games' assets fetch $320k in 38 Studios auction
The Big Huge Games side of this week's 38 Studios intellectual property auction has been sold for $320,000.00. The two lots sold off were for the trademark of Big Huge Games as well as the Rise of Legends and Rise of Nations properties. It is not currently known who the properties now belong to, though the auction drew the attention of 20 interested parties, five of which actively participated in the conference call for the auction. As for 38 Studios' in-development MMO set in the Kingdoms of Amalur universe Project Copernicus and social media and gaming platform Helios, the court-appointed receiver for the assets Richard J. Land did "not receive acceptable offers for the remaining lots," and "intends to continue to engage in negotiations with interested parties." Sources involved in the bidding process told Joystiq there were legacy issues with both the "Rise of" and Amalur intellectual properties, particularly with their former publishing partners Electronic Arts (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning) and Microsoft (Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends). Even if the properties were purchased, the buyers would still need to deal with some terms made during the original agreements.
Complete, unreleased Rise of Nations game found among 38 Studios' goods
When 38 Studios' intellectual properties are auctioned off by the state of Rhode Island on December 11, one more game will be included in the mix, Rise of Nations: Tactics. The Mac game was completed, albeit unreleased and seemingly unheard of until now. The auction was first slated to begin this week and includes the Kingdoms of Amalur IP, 38 Studios' in-development MMO Project Copernicus and Big Huge Games' properties Catan, Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends. "Additionally, through the examination of the data contained on the 38 Studios servers, we have discovered a completed, but unreleased game for Mac users titled 'Rise of Nations: Tactics,'" Nick Jimenez, executive vice president of the auction host Heritage Global Partners said in a press release. "We only became aware of this game this past week through our own due diligence efforts." The intellectual property auction follows 38 Studios' closure in May 2012, and according to the court-appointed lawyer for the now-defunct studio Richard Land, potential bidders' interest in the auction has been "greater than expected."
38 Studios IP auction scheduled for December 11
Come December 11, Heritage Global Partners will finally begin selling off the intellectual property of Curt Schilling's 38 Studios. Initially slated for November, the auction was delayed due to "greater than expected" interest from potential bidders. The state of Rhode Island is hoping that this auction will allow it to recoup some portion of the $75 million it loaned 38 Studios, so it only makes sense to attract as many bidders as possible. Among the items included in the auction are sequel and licensing rights to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, rights to Big Huge Games' Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends strategy games, and "Project Copernicus" which the auction house describes as "an in-development Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) including a 10,000 year world history, completed character 'races' and playable 'zones.'" Full information on the auction can be found at the Heritage Global Partners website. Initial bids will be accepted as late as 5PM EST on December 4.
38 Studios lawyer to request delay for IP auction
Richard Land, the court-appointed lawyer for 38 Studios, said he plans to ask a Rhode Island Superior Court judge to delay the now-defunct studio's intellectual property auction. The auction was originally slated to take place on November 14 and include the Project Copernicus MMO that was in development at 38 Studios prior to its May 2012 closure as well as sequel and merchandise rights and revenue for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Land told The Providence Journal that interest in the auction has been "greater than expected" from prospective bidders, leading to the request to delay the auction for "a couple weeks." The auction was also slated to include Big Huge Games properties Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends and XBLA game Catan.
Kingdoms of Amalur IP auction starts November 14, includes Rise of Nations
The 38 Studios and Big Huge Games liquidation auction will begin November 14, according to the Heritage Global Partners auction services page. Among the assets included in the auction from the state of Rhode Island are the Kingdoms of Amalur intellectual property, namely the Project Copernicus MMO that was in development at 38 Studios prior to its closure in May 2012. Additionally, buyers will be able to obtain sequel and merchandise rights and revenue for the developer's lone release, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Other assets in the auction include intellectual property rights for Big Huge Games' properties, particularly Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends and Catan in addition to the studio's Big Huge Games Engine and 38 Studios' Helios platform. The liquidation auction begins at 9:00am ET on November 14 and ends November 15 at 12:00pm ET.
Revisiting Reckoning: How Kingdoms of Amalur got the single-player MMORPG right
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. Recently, I decided to play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in remembrance of its one-year anniversary this past February, knowing I'd have to contend with two things that dominated discussion about the game: the politics and failures behind the 38 Studios disaster and dealing with a game I had been warned was filled with fantasy nonsense names and detailed lore – a model of storytelling I find quite annoying. But when I finally played Reckoning, I was surprised to learn how much I enjoyed it. I had an instant gut reaction to the game's beauty. It reminded me of the best times I'd spent in massively multiplayer role-playing games, and that was totally unexpected. My first character in World of Warcraft, the MMORPG that consumed most of my time with the genre, was a Night Elf starting on the island of Teldrassil. What I remember of that first character's journey wasn't tied to game mechanics, player interaction or even narrative, it was the feel of that starting zone. I remember the lush setting, trees with a slightly exotic, magical tinge, luxurious purples and greens, the seemingly perpetual twilight, the hints of corruption and danger, and the music hinting at all of those things and the history of the Night Elves. Indeed, most of my best experiences while playing WoW solo took place in those verdant, corrupted provinces, with Feralas probably my favorite of the old world. I didn't expect to ever have the same feeling again, but Reckoning delivered.%Gallery-129421%
Darksiders 2, Kingdoms of Amalur, EndWar all coming to PSN Nov. 20
Prepare to get your brutality, fantasy, and strategy on, as Darksiders 2, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and Tom Clancy's EndWar are all arriving on PlayStation Network November 20. This week's PlayStation Blogcast confirmed the trio of PS3 digital releases.Darksiders 2 recently got its second downloadable content pack, Abyssal Forge. Developer Vigil Games claims the DLC has some of the toughest enemies in the game. But, as the saying goes, Death laughs in the faces of a game's toughest enemies, or something. According to the podcast, the PSN version of Darksiders 2 includes a pass to the game's Crucible arena, and the official soundtrack.Eccentric shoot-em-up Sine Mora lands on PSN next week too, for PS3 and Vita. Grinding onto Vita via PSN is Jet Set Radio, free for PS Plus users until the end of the year. Clan of Champions and the fifth episode of The Walking Dead will be available online for PS3.
38 Studios auctions recoup $830k of $150.7M owed
Earlier this week, 38 Studios' former headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island played host to a public auction that brought in approximately $650,000 through over 1,000 bidders. If you combine this number with last week's auction at the studio's Big Huge Games division, the total recouped through auctions came to $830,000. This is unfortunately only a fraction of the estimated $150.7 million owed in bankruptcy filings, but the best part hasn't been put up on the block yet. The Kingdoms of Amalur intellectual property is said to be "sold in a negotiated transaction over the next three to six months," according to Joystiq. The total from that sale doesn't expect to cover the entire amount owed, which leaves the remainder up to the Rhode Island taxpayers.
Initial 38 Studios auction brings in $180K
Hey look, it's more 38 Studios news, sort of. The Verge reports on the first of three auctions designed to sell off assets of the shuttered development firm, which took place earlier this week in Timonium, Maryland. Why Maryland? Because up for bid were a bunch of items from former Maryland-based 38 subsidiary Big Huge Games. The highest-value item was an animation suit that fetched $9,500. The second auction is scheduled for next Tuesday at 38's former offices in Rhode Island. The third auction, which will feature the firm's intellectual property, will take place in approximately three months.
Schilling 'tapped out' after loss of 38 Studios
Curt Schilling has spoken to a Boston radio station about the lingering effects of 38 Studios' demise. The former Red Sox pitcher has been vilified by some gamers who assume that he's living the high life while former employees are suffering, but he tells WEEI that that's pretty far from the truth. "The money I saved and earned playing baseball was probably all gone... life is going to be different," he says. Rhode Island taxpayers will also be tightening their belts, as they'll pay nearly $12 million annually through the year 2020 to cover 38's $150 million debt, according to Joystiq. Schilling also revealed that 38 Studios was close to signing a deal to produce a Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning sequel prior to remarks made by Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee that supposedly damaged the negotiation process. Schilling also expressed remorse at the plight of former 38 Studios employees. "The employees got blindsided," he said. "They have every right to be upset. I always told everybody if something were going to happen, you're going to have a month or two of lead time, and I bombed on that one in epic fashion."
38 Studios declares bankruptcy, law enforcement investigating [Updated]
38 Studios, in a move surprising absolutely no one, has declared bankruptcy. This report comes hot on the heels of the news that the Project Copernicus developer has laid off all of its employees and sold Big Huge Games. In addition to covering the bankruptcy, the Providence Journal revealed that "state and federal authorities have launched an investigation into [the company]." State police Col. Steven G. O'Donnell states that the inquiry is taking place "to investigate activities that have recently come to light at 38 Studios." According to the Journal, these activities include taking out loans totaling $8.5 million US "based on state film tax credits that had not yet been issued." Things are looking pretty grim for Curt Schilling and his studio, but we'll just have to stay tuned to see how the rest of this plays out. [Update: Our sister site Joystiq reports that the Rhode Island governor has stated, "We are going to do everything possible to maximize return on our investment [...] Taxpayers in Rhode Island can have full confidence that if there's a penny that we can get, or a nickle or a dime, we'll get it." The company is suspected to be worth "tens of millions of dollars."]
Big Huge Games members picked up for Epic Baltimore
Epic Games will open up a new studio, Epic Baltimore, made up of members of 38 Studios' Big Huge Games. The new studio is made up of members of the team responsible for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the only product the gutted 38 Studios was able to get to market."On Wednesday, the ex-BHG leadership team contacted us. They wanted to start a new company and keep together some of the key talent displaced by the layoff, and hoped that they could use an Epic IP as a starting point for a new game," Epic Games President Michael Capps wrote on the company's site. "We loved that they all wanted to keep working together, but it was pretty clear they'd have trouble building a demo and securing funding before their personal savings ran out."Capps went on to say that Epic had been coincidentally looking to create more projects, but needed an infusion of top talent to do so. The now unemployed top talent of Big Huge Games presented a good opportunity.He concludes that some more of the BHG refugees have been picked up by "Zynga East, Zenimax Online and other southeastern studios." The talent acquisition all but kills any chance of a Reckoning 2 – unless Epic buys the IP or has the team work on a similar project.
Former 38 Studios employees defend Schilling, talk political misinformation [Updated]
Gamers and other outsiders have been quick to label Curt Schilling as the primary villain in the 38 Studios drama, but a new piece at Gamasutra intimates that that might not be the whole story. The website cites multiple anonymous sources who say that 38's situation wasn't helped by Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee. "Once things went bad, Chafee's office started leaking any information it could to make 38 Studios look like it had been a bad deal. Unfortunately, a lot of these leaks involved partial and complete misinformation," the source said. Another source dispelled notions of excessive spending at the shuttered studio. "I can say that the company didn't spend money extravagantly at all. We didn't have giant statues in the halls, or supercomputers with 30-inch monitors at every desk. We had what we needed to work on the game and that was it," the source tells Gamasutra. [Update: One former team member talked about 38 Studios' MMO, saying that it was quite close to completion: "I have worked on a number of projects in my career, and I can say without reservation that Copernicus [had] incredible potential to be a blockbuster MMO. It wasn't completely revolutionary in terms of gameplay, but it took existing conventions and refined or improved them across the board. The idea that this imminently playable, triple-A, beautiful MMO that had millions of dollars and man-hours poured into it is heartbreaking."]
Schilling speaks out on 38 Studios debacle, stands to lose $50 million
Curt Schilling is finally speaking out on the 38 Studios brouhaha. The former Red Sox pitcher told The Providence Journal that he stands to lose $50 million of his personal fortune as the fiasco plays out. Schilling also laid some blame at the feet of Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, who he says made public statements that were "devastating" and that "scared off private investors." Joystiq also reports on why some former 38 Studios employees remained silent as the drama unfolded over the last week. "[Schilling] had invested so much into us financially and personally, we were not about to betray that trust. We were not going to take the chance of speaking to the press and accidentally ruining any chances with outside investors. Unfortunately, it didn't matter if the employees spoke and ruined things with the investors as the governor beat us to it," the source said.
Schilling says he could lose $50 million of his own money in 38 Studios implosion [update: Chafee responds]
Embattled 38 Studios co-founder and head Curt Schilling finally broke his weeks of silence on the Rhode Island studio's recent implosion in an interview with The Providence Journal. "Frustration" seems not strong enough a word to describe his feelings toward Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee – Schilling called Chafee's commentary surrounding 38 Studios "devastating," and claimed it "scared off private investors."Schilling also said that he could lose $50 million due to the studio's failure – money which he earned as a professional baseball player, and which he later invested into 38 Studios. That money, as well as approximately $50 million of a planned $75 million loan co-signed by the state of Rhode Island, was eaten by 38's long-in-development MMO, "Project Copernicus."38 Studios' Baltimore-based subsidiary, Big Huge Games, was working on a sequel to this year's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The project was depending on private investment to go into production – to the tune of $35 million from an unnamed publisher – which Schilling said was pushed away by Chafee's statements."Curt was committed to us as a community and as people, he wanted the best possible work environment for the team he cared so much for, and as a result none of us wanted to let him down," one former 38 Studios employee, speaking under condition of anonymity, told us. "He had invested so much into us financially and personally, we were not about to betray that trust. We were not going to take the chance of speaking to the press and accidentally ruining any chances with outside investors. Unfortunately, it didn't matter if the employees spoke and ruined things with the investors as the Governor beat us to it."Last week, 38 Studios laid off its near-300 person staff in Rhode Island, as well as its approximately 100-person studio in Baltimore, Big Huge Games.Update: Governor Lincoln Chafee responded this morning to Schilling's comments in a short Q&A session with Rhode Island reporters. "As a business person, he was new at it, and so I always had some reservations," Chafee said. "I have to verify everything, I can't just take it as a leap of faith," he told one reporter asking about the alleged $35 million that 38 Studios was on the brink of acquiring to create a sequel to this year's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. "Hope springs eternal, but I won't misrepresent to the Rhode Islanders how dire the situation is," Chafee added. "I understand that being involved in this very risky industry that, when things aren't going well, there's gonna be blame. But this isn't accurate to be blaming the state in this case."
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 2 was in 'pre-production'
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning 2 was in "pre-production" at 38 Studios' Big Huge Games in Maryland before all employees were let go last week. Several sources with knowledge of the situation tell Joystiq that the company was in advanced talks with a publisher before the events that led to the dissolution of the team.Even if the Big Huge Games team could be salvaged under a different banner, it is unlikely that they could work on Reckoning 2. The intellectual property, tech and code (the latter used as a springboard) required to make a sequel is still owned by 38 Studios for the time being, but will likely soon be owned by the state of Rhode Island. Sources close to discussions with Rhode Island tell us that the state's asking price to release assets is too high.Elements tested for the sequel were higher graphics quality across the board, no loading screens between zones, expanded and improved combat animations, more branching quests and greater effect on the world by players.
WRUP: A moment of silence for 38 Studios
Every week, just at the start of the weekend, we catch up with the WoW Insider staff and ask them, "What are you playing this week?" -- otherwise known as: WRUP. Join us to see what we're up to in and out of game, and catch us in the comments to let us know what you're playing, too! In case you've been living under a rock the last 24 hours or so, one of the biggest stories in the gaming world right now is the collapse of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games. We didn't really cover it, since we're a World of Warcraft-focused site, but we're all gamers here. It stings to see an MMORPG crash and burn, but it hurts even more to see the devastation that the sudden fall of two companies in the industry has caused. The situation for folks at 38 Studios is somewhat grim right now, though that's nothing new. Most of them had been working without pay since the beginning of the month. A lot of them were depending on the health insurance their job provided -- coverage which has since expired. All of them were just like us -- gamers at heart who just wanted to do something really cool to entertain you. Twitter has been rallying to help, but it's impossible to look at the situation without wishing there was something more you could do. Beyond the employees, there are a lot of other victims of this debacle too. The taxpayers of Rhode Island are on the hook for a massive loan made to keep 38 afloat -- a loan which could total over $112 million by the time all is said and done. That's a $100 charge to every man, woman, and child currently living in the state. A number of Rhode Island officials who stuck their necks out for 38 have resigned in disgrace, though arguably, they had a lot to be disgraced over. I guess what I'm saying is that it's a bad situation all around. Well, almost all around. One of the few people who got away clean, ironically, is company founder Curt Schilling, the baseball player who inexplicably started a video games company. He wrote himself a $4 million check from the 38 Studios bank account a few months ago, money that could have -- and should have -- gone to pay his employees that he watched work without pay. As someone from "Red Sox Nation," I feel I have the right to say this: Screw that guy. So yeah, before we head into this week's WRUP, I want to have a brief moment of silence for 38 Studios and all the folks who were hurt by its downfall.
Editorial: Learning from the 38 Studios disaster
The closure of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games yesterday sparked a series of interesting events that make me both sad and proud to be a part of the greater gamer community. Job offers were overflowing from current game companies looking to snatch up some of 38's talented designers, and a Twitter hashtag was even created to spread the word and get new jobs for those affected by the layoffs. I am proud of the outreach and camaraderie of the game development community, but the hate being thrown at Curt Schilling isn't going to solve anything. The most important thing we can do at this point is to tape off the crime scene, look at the evidence, and figure out what went wrong.
Industry rallies to get former 38 Studios, Big Huge Games staff new work
The sudden firing of all 379 employees at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games today was a blow to the industry, even for those of us who expected it. Soon after news broke, many developers, artists, designers, PR people, journalists and fans took to the Internet to express frustration and anger -- and to help.On Twitter, the hashtag "#38jobs" rose to trending in the US, with people shouting out which studios were hiring and generally sending support to those let go today. A Facebook group titled "38Jobs" popped up around the same time. Freelance games journo Alex Rubens gathered all of these jobs tips into a Google Doc that currently sports 84 studios with openings, including Irrational Games, Bungie, Activision, Klei Entertainment, Rockstar and other major and indie companies.Access the full list here; it is still in the process of being updated and refined, courtesy of Rubens and The Side Of The Gaming Industry That Proves We're Not All Trolling Douchebags.
