kingdomsofamalurreckoning
Latest
THQ Nordic is the Frankenstein monster of video games
THQ Nordic has built a successful business out of the dead and rotting leftovers from downtrodden video game studios. Since entering the publishing biz in 2011, its specialty has been acquiring the intellectual property rights for midtier and AAA games and breathing new life into them. THQ Nordic has resurrected and remastered franchises including Darksiders, Jagged Alliance, Red Faction, Desperados and MX vs. ATV, to name just a few. The studio's latest purchase has been lifeless for six years, but it's a big one. THQ Nordic announced this month that it acquired the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur, the vast fantasy franchise from Rhode Island developer 38 Studios, which went down in flames and infamy in 2012. Amalur is just the latest limb sewn onto THQ Nordic's undead monster, but it's a clear representation of the company's unique, and so far lucrative, approach to publishing.
38 Studios' 'Kingdoms of Amalur' finds a second life at THQ
Curt Schilling's 38 Studios imploded years ago, but its gaming legacy might live for a while longer. THQ Nordic has bought the intellectual property for Kingdoms of Amalur, including the Amalur-based ( and unreleased) online RPG Project Copernicus. The publisher hasn't said what it intends to do with the fantasy franchise, but its team in Austria will conduct "evaluation of sequels and new content."
How the 38 Studios scandal shaped 'Life is Strange: Before the Storm'
Passion doesn't equate success. It's a hard lesson to learn in any industry -- no matter how dedicated your team is, regardless of how invested they are financially or emotionally, the entire business could burst into flames at any moment. Factors beyond anyone's control can shift the course of a project in an instant, or kill it on the spot. Few people know this reality better than the developers at 38 Studios. Founded in 2006 by former professional baseball player Curt Schilling, 38 Studios recruited top talent including fantasy author RA Salvatore and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, with the goal of building MMORPGs -- huge, online games with dense ever-evolving worlds.
Curt Schilling to repay a fraction of $75 million game loan
The saga of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's 38 Studios, the state of Rhode Island and an awful lot of money might finally be over. At the end of July, it was announced that 38 Studios wouldn't face criminal charges for a failed $75 million loan for Project Copernicus, a massively multiplayer online game set in the Kingdoms of Amalur universe. Now, Schilling and his compatriots only have to pay $2.5 million to settle the lawsuit out of court, according to the Associated Press.
Court approves settlement over Curt Schilling's failed game studio
The longstanding battle for compensation following the death of Curt Schilling's state-backed game studio, 38 Studios, is one step closer to winding down. A Rhode Island Superior Court judge has approved a $12.5 million partial settlement with four of the defendants in the case, helping recoup some of the $75 million poured into the failed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning creator. This definitely isn't the end -- Schilling is still fighting the lawsuit, for one thing. Between this and an earlier $4.4 million settlement, though, the tide appears to be turning against the former baseball star. [Image credit: Tony Avelar/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
