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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."]
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."
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.
EVE Evolved: Lessons from 38 Studios
This week we heard the news that Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios shut down and let go all 379 full-time staff. It's always a tragedy when good developers are made jobless, especially if the job losses come out of nowhere and hit people who have only recently been hired. 38 Studios was still hiring people shortly before it collapsed, and some of those recent hires were ex-CCP developers who were part of the 20% of staff fired at the end of last year. The shutdown of 38 Studios is a sobering reminder of the problems in EVE Online's development that led to monoclegate. Both studios were mismanaged, with the jobs of hundreds of developers gambled on the outcome of poorly researched business decisions. EVE Online thankfully survived CCP's failed microtransaction gamble, but 38 Studios' Project Copernicus may never see the light of day. In this week's EVE Evolved opinion piece, I look into the similar circumstances that forced CCP Games and 38 Studios to fire staff, and draw some lessons from them for which I believe the industry should take heed.
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.
Rhode Island: Fired 38 Studios staff are highly skilled, will find new work
Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training director Charles Fogarty said today that the staff of 38 Studios, all of whom were laid off yesterday, will be able to find new jobs because they are "highly skilled.""The individuals in question, most of them are pretty highly skilled," Fogarty said. "They've already been contacted by a number of employers. Our department has been contacted by folks looking for people with that type of skill."Governor Lincoln Chafee and his team today held another press conference to address 38 Studios' financial situation, leading with the information that his office wasn't informed of the layoffs yesterday. Chafee held a press conference one hour after news of the firings broke yesterday; about 300 people in Rhode Island and almost 100 from Big Huge Games in Maryland lost their jobs.Today, Fogarty said he didn't think it would be difficult for these former employees to find new work."I don't expect that they're going to be unemployed for all that length of time," he said. "So far there's only been a small number who've actually applied for unemployment benefits at this point."Fogarty didn't say how many former 38 Studios employees had applied for unemployment. To allay concerns of the wider economic impact of supporting an influx of people on unemployment, Fogarty said the following: "Don't forget, a number of them are not Rhode Islanders. They worked here but they were not Rhode Islanders."Of the unspecific number of people who filed for unemployment, about half were Rhode Islander residents, he said, responding to questions about the "jobs for Rhode Islanders" pitch that came with 38 Studios' founding.Gov. Chafee doesn't think it's futile to attempt to find investors in 38 Studios, saying that when a studio is basically defunct and has no employees, "some might argue that that's the time for an investor to come in, when you can get it for pennies on the dollar, but we're still fairly pessimistic."Unfortunately, even if an investor did jump in, Rhode Island would be the "pennies" part of that analogy, not the dollar.
R.A. Salvatore: Project Copernicus would 'blow you away'
The future isn't looking particularly bright for 38 Studios and its in-development MMO Project Copernicus, but the game's writer, esteemed fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, took to the comments on a post on Daily Kos to tell everyone how great the game would have been. Salvatore claims that the game is "much further along than is being reported" and that he wishes he could show us some of it (though sadly, he cannot). He goes on to state that the developers behind Copernicus were "an amazing team of [developers]... pushing the envelope in their respective fields" and that "the environments, the animations, and the game-play would blow you away." Unfortunately, it's looking like we'll never get to judge the veracity of Salvatore's words for ourselves, but the statements do help to shed a bit of light on what might have been.
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.
Editorial: 38 Studios and the Dunkin delusions
The Providence Journal sat neatly presented on the counter at the Dunkin Donuts across the street from 38 Studios in Rhode Island, its headline clear as day: "Loan-guarantee fallout costs EDC chief his job." Further down the right column of the page was the other harbinger headline: "Too little cash to cover the check."This was last Friday, May 18, the day after the head of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, the quasi-government group responsible for co-signing the $75 million loan to 38 Studios, was fired. It was also the day after the state couldn't deposit a $1.12 million check the studio delivered as a payment because the company's chief financial officer called to say there were insufficient funds.A man walked up to the counter for his morning caffeine fix. I guessed he worked at 38 Studios because he had 'the look.' The lady working the counter confirmed my egregious profiling by asking, "How are things going over there?"
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.
Our own Alexander Sliwinski talks 38 Studios with Fox 25 News
Here at Joystiq, we spend most of our time hunched over laptops pumping out a steady stream of news for you to consume. But every now and again, one of us is ripped out from behind the comfort of our mobile workplace to talk gaming news with a mainstream outlet – today is such a day.Following the unfortunate events at 38 Studios and Big Huge Games, News Editor Alexander Sliwinski took to Boston-area affiliate Fox 25 News to talk all things 38 and Rhode Island. We're hoping that his dashing suit and suave demeanor will help to convince you that our whole staff is made up of debonair jetsetters, even if we know in our hearts that's a stone-cold lie.
The politics of making games: Disconnect between 38 Studios and Rhode Island in quotes
Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee gathered his experts on finances and bond laws to discuss the dire situation of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning publisher 38 Studios today, opening with a clear summation: "It's not a good situation; I'm not here to deliver good news."Just an hour before the conference, news broke that all 379 staff of 38 Studios and its property Big Huge Games had been laid off. Chafee's adviser John Savage answered the first question regarding the layoffs: "In my conversations today, there were no discussions about layoffs."Chafee agreed, saying "nothing changed today," and the tone of the conference was effectively set.Of the layoffs that his administration wouldn't acknowledge, Chafee suggested, "Well, they could be rehired. Some investor might come in."In a related optimistic response, Chafee said he believes 38 Studios will be able to hit its payment benchmarks, banking on the "emotional attachment" of gamers to the Amalur universe. "I would suspect that they are going to be on time and at the proper amount," he said. "All that investment, all that adherement to benchmarks. I think is going to be accurate in the end."At the moment, Chafee said he couldn't assign blame in the situation to anyone specifically, but he did say "that's gonna come over time if we're not successful in getting this company financially solvent."To keep 38 Studios solvent will be "very, very expensive," Chafee said, taking "tens of millions of dollars" in marketing alone. These projections come from "industry experts," who also told Chafee that he was doing the right thing the entire time. "Every indication I got from all this process is that everything is going according to the business plan," Chafee said."I asked the experts: What could have we done better? And they were telling me, 'You did everything right. You put your money in, you supported the game, and you're better off not meddling.' If I had meddled there wouldn't be all this violence in these games, all the sexism."Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning sold 1.2 million units in its first 90 days, but for 38 Studios to break even it would have had to sell 3 million, Chafee said. Even though 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling said the game "outperformed EA's projections," Chafee was forced to disagree."The game failed," he said.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning had to sell 3M 'just to break even,' RI governor says
Despite Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning selling "1.22 million copies in its first 90 days" according to 38 Studios head Curt Schilling, it apparently never crested the 3 million mark it needed to break even. "The game failed, the game failed," Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee told attendees of a press conference this afternoon.According to "experts" speaking with Chafee's office, Reckoning needed to sell over 3 million copies "just to break even," never mind profit. The action RPG was released this past February to critical praise and modest initial financial success. It was credited with saving Big Huge Games from destruction back in 2009 when 38 Studios picked up the Baltimore studio, primarily for repurposing an already-in-production RPG into what we now know was Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.Both 38 Studios and Big Huge Games laid off their staffs this afternoon amidst major financial trouble at 38.
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 and Big Huge Games lay off entire staffs [update]
38 Studios and Big Huge Games have both let go of their entire staffs, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Joystiq. Following reports that 38 Studios stopped paying staff on May 1, and just an hour before a scheduled press conference in Rhode Island addressing the recent 38 Studios financial debacle, both the Providence, RI-based 38 Studios and the Baltimore, MD-based Big Huge Games are no more."Big Huge Games was home for my wife and me for our adult lives so far. I'll miss it terribly, but so proud. Good night and good luck," former Big Huge Games lead world designer Colin Campbell said on his Twitter account. Big Huge's latest release was the moderately successful Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The studio was picked up by 38 Studios back in 2009, and it crafted the first entry in 38's ambitious new universe: Amalur.The recent financial tumult arose following a defaulted payment from 38 Studios to the Rhode Island state government on May 1, indicating much larger financial issues that could ultimately lead to Rhode Island taxpayers owing up to $112.6 million between 2013 and 2020. It's unclear whether today's layoffs mean 38 Studios is unable to pay back the approximately $50 million its owes Rhode Island of a planed $75 million loan. If that's the case, Rhode Island will take over ownership of the Amalur IP, valued at around $20 million.We expect to hear more at a scheduled press conference this evening held by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee.Update: WPRI got ahold of the internal memo to employees at 38 Studios, which reads: "The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary. These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary. This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012." Big Huge Games and 38 Studios collectively employed 379 full-timers as of March 15, according to the report.
Project Copernicus 'racial' screens leak from 38 Studios
While 38 Studios remains in dire straits, fans are getting a bittersweet treat of Project Copernicus reveals. It's sweet because we've been dying to see more information on this game, but bitter because its fate is still up in the air. Today fan site 38 Watch posted a trio of official-looking screens straight from Copernicus' world. In the screens, three races are revealed: the human-looking Almain, the dwarven Dverga, and the orcish Jottun. The game's art style and lush color palette are on full display, opting for more of a stylized than realistic approach. We recently heard that Project Copernicus has a possible June 2013 launch window and got our first look at the game in a flyby video. You can scope out the new screens in the gallery below. %Gallery-156060%
