curt-schilling
Latest
38 Studios' Amalur MMO 'Project Copernicus' would have been free-to-play
Details continue to surface regarding "Project Copernicus," the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO that once dominated development at Curt Schilling's now-defunct 38 Studios. We've seen an early trailer of the game and learned that it wasn't any fun to play, but Copernicus' more tangible bullet points, such as its pricing structure, have remained a mystery."We were going to be the first triple-A, hundred-million-dollar-plus, free-to-play, micro-transaction-based MMO," Schilling told Boston Magazine. "That was one of our big secrets."Schilling went on to say that Copernicus' status as a free-to-play MMO would have been the "atom bomb" that "shocked the world," once the game eventually debuted. Copernicus' non-subscription architecture was also one of 38 Studios' strongest selling points during late-stage negotiations with potential investors, according to Schilling, and that talks could have been kept alive were it not for Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee's disparaging public tone.
Copernicus would have been F2P
First things first. We apologize for twisting the Copernicus knife. With that out of the way, did you know that 38 Studios' shuttered MMO was going to be the first mega-budget title to launch with a free-to-play model? We didn't either until Curt Schilling confessed as much to Boston Magazine. "We were going to be the first AAA, hundred-million-dollar-plus, free-to-play, microtransaction-based MMO. That was one of our big secrets," Schilling said. "I think when we eventually showed off the game for the first time, the atom bomb was going to be free-to-play. When we announced that at the end, that was gonna be the thing that, I think, shocked the world."
A look at Curt Schilling's management of 38 Studios
The dust has more or less settled around the demise of 38 Studios, but much of the information about what happened to lead the company so deep into the hole is fragmented. Some fans admonish the Rhode Island governor, some admonish Curt Schilling, and some admonish the management team that led to several poor decisions. A new piece in Boston Magazine goes into depth about where Schilling's management caused problems and how the culture at the studio slowly deteriorated. The article paints Schilling as being relentlessly optimistic and dedicated to his employees but at the same time unfamiliar with business and the realities of running a game company. He also wound up with a bloated staff and disregarded information from management, leading to conflicting demands and a general lack of progress on major deadlines for Project Copernicus. If you've got any interest in the game industry, it's a fascinating look at how a game company can start with high hopes and dissolve under financial realities.
MMO subscriber numbers have peaked, says industry analyst
Whether you love him, hate him, respect him, or ignore him, when Michael Pachter speaks, his voice carries. So it's of note that everyone's favorite videogame analyst is back with a few more controversial remarks concerning the growth -- or lack of it -- in the MMO market. Speaking at the Evolve Conference, Pachter said, "It looks to me as though the MMO market is as big as it's ever going to be -- as far as subscription MMOs. People willing to play $15 a month, there are six or seven million of them. Period. If Star Wars couldn't expand it, when it's made by BioWare, nothing can do it. That's why Curt Schilling's 38 Studios went out of business, because he couldn't get financing." In May, Pachter proclaimed that nobody was buying MMOs after Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch.
Project Copernicus announcement trailer released [Updated]
For those interested in twisting the 38 Studios knife just a little bit more, Kotaku has posted what would have been Project Copernicus' official announcement trailer had Curt Schilling's development house not imploded dramatically earlier this year. The clip runs just over two minutes and features a series of stylized vignettes that morph into brief snippets of gameplay footage. All of this is set to a cryptic voiceover repeating something about a circle still turning. It's an interesting if slightly depressing look at what might have been. Head over to Kotaku for all the drama. [Update: Steve Danuser, formerly of 38 Studios fame, has published a context-driven explanation of what's shown in the video.]
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."
Schilling says he's 'tapped out' in first interview since 38 Studios collapse
38 Studios founder and former Red Sox star Curt Schilling said he was "tapped out" of cash in his first interview since the studio's demise. In a sympathetic radio interview on WEEI (via Boston Globe) this morning, Schilling said he told his family last month, "The money I saved and earned playing baseball was probably all gone ... Life is going to be different."Documents released after the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) show that the studio owed $150 million to more than 1,000 entities, most of that debt to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp., and that the developer had less than $22 million in assets. Rhode Island taxpayers will now have to spend approximately $12 million annually until 2020 to repay the 38 Studios debt to bondholders."The employees got blindsided," Schilling 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."Schilling also confirmed they were on the verge of signing a $35 million deal for a sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the company's RPG project by Big Huge Games, but talks collapsed once RI Gov. Lincoln Chafee made statements about the studio's precarious financial situation. He also said Reckoning didn't bring in revenue to the studio because it still had to repay an advance to publisher Electronic Arts.
Subpoenas issued over 38 Studios deal, Citizens Bank sues Schilling [Updated]
While the fallout from 38 Studios' collapse carries with it a human toll, it also has triggered a legal one as well. State and federal law enforcement agencies have issued subpoenas to both Bank Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation over the loans that enticed the game studio to the state. Currently, the RI state police, the state attorney general's office, the FBI, and the US attorney's office are jointly looking into the situation. Police are investigating the specifics of the deals in an attempt to figure out what exactly happened. The subpoenas requested records of the financial contracts and loans. Both the RIEDC's $75M in taxpayer bonds and Bank Rhode Island's $8.5M loan are unlikely to be repaid following the studio's bankruptcy. [Update: Massively reader Zaken tipped us off to the fact that Citizens Bank has announced it is suing 38 Studios' Curt Schilling to the tune of $2.4 million "in an attempt to recoup its money from the ex-ballplayer's personal assets."]
Alleged 38 Studios spouse outlines family's financial struggles after company's closure
38 Studios stories continue to circulate through the gaming media this week, with the latest arriving courtesy of Gamasutra. The industry news site has published an anonymous letter from an alleged former employee's wife that details the challenges inherent in supporting a large family that is subject to the whims of the game industry. The letter outlines the family's financial struggles in great detail, and it serves as a cautionary tale to game industry hopefuls who are thinking of uprooting a family to follow a dream. Though the author is unnamed and could quite literally be anyone, Gamasutra says it has "verified her husband's name and former position at 38 Studios."
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."]
38 Studios declares bankruptcy, formal investigation begins regarding finances
Curt Schilling's embattled 38 Studios declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation), as Rhode Island and federal authorities open an investigation into how the company handled its finances.WPRI reports the state police, attorney general's office, US Attorney's office and the FBI will investigate 38 Studios, "both the money that came from the state as well as the money that came from Bank Rhode Island." The Providence Journal confirmed the bankruptcy this afternoon.Beyond the controversial taxpayer backed loan of $75 million to 38 Studios, the Bank Rhode Island reportedly loaned the developer $8.5 million earlier this year against tax credits that haven't materialized.
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."]
Curt Schilling posts Project Copernicus screens
The 38 Studios saga continues as Curt Schilling, head of the beleaguered company, has posted screenshots of its long-in-development MMO, Project Copernicus. These are "images from the most magical, breathtaking and awe inspiring world ever created," says Schilling, images he was "'allowed' to peek at along the way, when the team wanted us all to see the magical world we were building."Schilling also wrote regarding his recent statement that Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee's comments damaged 38 Studios and "scared off" potential investors. Wrote Schilling: "Everyone has missed the point with regards to the public comments. Their impact was massive, and destructive. The 'leader' of the LARGEST investor in 38, next to me, and our PARTNER, is publicly condemning their partner. How on earth can ANYONE think for a second that is not incredibly impactful?"Take a good look at the screens in the gallery below. Barring a miracle or an outside acquisition, it may be our last glimpse of Project Copernicus. It's also worth noting that, along with a brief flyover video, these screens represent one of our only glimpses of Project Copernicus.%Gallery-156567%
Curt Schilling posts more images of Copernicus
Despite the state of Rhode Island's best efforts, Curt Schilling is not done with Project Copernicus. Sure, 38 Studios may be gone, but the legacy lives on, this time through a handful of brand-new screenshots posted on Curt Schilling's own Facebook page this morning. These six shots show the ready-for-primetime artwork that is a big part of why we're even more disappointed in the way things played out. As Schilling describes this set, these are "images from the most magical, breathtaking and awe inspiring world ever created [...] images [he] was 'allowed' to peek at along the way, when the team wanted [them] all to see the magical world [they] were building."
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."
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.
38 Studios lays off entire staff, sells Big Huge Games [Updated]
The 38 Studios disaster continues to unfold today, as the troubled studio laid off its entire staff and may be selling off its Big Huge Games division in Boston. Boston's Fox 25 News speculates that the studio may close by this weekend. 38 Studios CM Charles Dane confirmed being laid off on Twitter: "Now on the market. I had an awesome run with 38 Studios, but this dream is now ending." Word is that the company is also selling its subsidiary, Big Huge Games. Big Huge Games is the maker of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, 38 Studios' single-player prequel to its Copernicus MMO. This would not be the first time that Big Huge Games was sold by its parent company, as the studio experienced the same event back in 2009. Oh his Facebook page, Curt Schilling stressed that Reckoning did quite well in sales. "I wanted to clear up some misinformation around 38 Studios' first product, Reckoning. Sales of Reckoning outperformed EA's expectations and sold more than 1.2 million units in the game's first 90 days in the market." [Update]: Developer Ryan Shwayder has also confirmed the layoffs via his personal blog.
38 Studios appears to be getting no new help
The bad news continues to accumulate for Rhode Island developer 38 Studios. According to Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, the company has received a grand total of no outside investment. It also has not received any of the tax credits that it requested, leaving the studio still deep in the hole. Chafee has stated that he is doing everything in his power to prevent the studio's closure. Staff members are also leaving the company at an alarming rate, with CEO Jen MacLean and senior VP of product development John Blakely both confirming their departures from the company. The hiring of both individuals was trumpeted as a mark of success as recently as March of this year, and Blakely was still employed by 38 Studios as recently as Monday evening. There's even talk of the company's health insurance running out. None of this news suggests that Curt Schilling's company will make a quick turnaround -- if indeed it makes a turnaround at all.
