project-copernicus
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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."]
'38 Spouse' explains decision to speak now, never heard of 'EA Spouse'
Late Tuesday night an email blast went to several media outlets from '38 Spouse,' offering up an inside look into the collapsed 38 Studios "through the eyes of a spouse of one of the employees." The allusions to the EA Spouse (Erin Hoffman) incident of 2004, a watershed moment in the industry regarding working conditions, gave us pause in printing the full letter. Turns out "38 Spouse" had never even heard of her predecessor."No, I was not aware at the time, but have now been enlightened," she told Joystiq. Although 38 Spouse has verified her identity to us, she wishes to remain anonymous to not "cause any problems" with her husband getting a new job. He remains unemployed, she said, "But there's lots of interest and we are hoping to have something soon.""It took me some time to get over the shock to be honest. Also, I have been looking for a temporary job, since I am not sure if we are moving or not," she told us when asked why she sent the open letter. "It's been a month and I really felt that now was the time to hear a different side of this story. I wanted to explain and make people aware in any industry, not just gaming, that this kind of thing happened. These employees were not a statistic, but real people with families and they believe in what they do."Asked who her husband blames for the situation she said, "He really doesn't blame anyone specifically as there were a lot of different reasons things weren't working."The full 38 Spouse letter can be found after the break.
Steve Danuser weighs in on the 38 Studios debacle
It's been one hell of a month for the folks at the now-bankrupt 38 Studios, but so far we've heard precious little from anyone directly involved with the Project Copernicus developer. Today, 38 Studios' former Creative Director, Steve Danuser, has broken that silence with a post about the matter on his personal blog. The post doesn't really do much to shed any light on the events that led to the studio's fall, but it does provide one thing that has been lacking: A look at the people affected by the debacle. Danuser takes the time to talk about the rollercoaster of emotions that he and other 38 Studios employees have been riding for the better part of the last month, stating that "the only people who really understand are the ones who make up this now fractured fraternity that was once a great team." It really is a very personal read, but it adds a fresh, human perspective to a story that has, until now, been addressed only from the angles of finance and industry. To read it all for yourself, head on over to Danuser's blog. Oh, and if you're the emotional sort, it may help to have some tissues handy.
The Soapbox: This fantasy is far from fantastic
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. "More innovation!" is the common rallying cry of the disgruntled MMO player. Push forward the genre, build awe-inspiring giant statues instead of sixth grade art projects, do that one magic thing that nobody can agree on to make this genre as fresh and great and interesting as it was. You know, as it was when you first got into these games, that is. For all of the "more innovation!" speeches that I've seen, I never see the one that touches on the most irksome areas of stagnation in the industry, and that is how incredibly lame most MMO fantasy worlds are. Cut 'n' paste, mix and match elements between any two fantasy MMOs, and I guarantee you that nobody would really notice. The truth is that for all their desire to be seen as unique and special, most of these games feature a world carbon copied from each other with minor Mad Lib deviations. Case in point: Have you ever realized just how many of these MMO worlds share almost the same name? Start with T, usually end with A, there you go. Telara. Telon. Tyria. Atreia. Taborea. It doesn't stop there, but it really should. MMO designers need to realize that fantasy is more than just D&D and Tolkien derivations and explore the unlimited scope of what the genre could be.
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.
Trion Worlds CEO pinpoints the failings of 38 Studios and Star Wars: The Old Republic
Trion Worlds' CEO Lars Buttler has never been one to pussyfoot around his competition, and at this year's E3, Buttler bluntly addressed what he saw as the failings of both 38 Studios and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Buttler talked about said studio and game in light of the perceived crumbling of the AAA MMO segment. Citing different issues between the two companies and projects, he said that "process management" was 38 Studios Achilles' Heel: "38 Studios had a concept they couldn't deliver on... It was too big of a scope. It was too much. It just went broader and never narrowed. They never even came close to the finish line." In the case of SWTOR, Buttler sees BioWare fumbling where Trion's RIFT has stayed consistently strong: "I don't think [SWTOR's] business model was necessarily the issue, but I think it was content updates, and what to do in the game, and how you can play it without it becoming repetitive." So what is the key to success for an MMO? "You have to be able to keep people interested," Buttler concluded. "The key about an online game is that it's a live service. If you make it more like a packaged goods game, people will stay about as long as they stay with a packaged goods game."
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 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."
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.
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: 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.
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.
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%
38 Studios employees unpaid since May 1, health insurance ends on Thursday
38 Studios employees have not been paid since May 1 and their health care will end Thursday at midnight, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Joystiq. Employees are normally paid on the first and 15th of each month.When asked if the studio would be shutting down this week, the source could only say, "Unknown at this time. Outlook is not good."We're informed that 38 Studios' MMO, "Project Copernicus," announced by Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee as launching in June 2013, did have that date as its internal target. However, "Whether this is realistic or not is up for debate."Gov. Chafee said in a press conference today that he would do what he could to prevent the studio from shutting down. Will the studio still exist within a month? "I have no idea," our source replied.
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.
RI Gov. Chafee working to prevent 38 Studios shutdown, unaware of any new cash for company [update]
The situation faced by troubled MMO developer 38 Studios is not improving. According to Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, the company has not received any new investment. In a sudden press conference late today, he said the studio had not received any outside investment nor any of the new tax credits it has applied for. NBC10 reports that, when asked if 38 Studios would be closing, Chafee said he would do what he could to prevent it.WPRI reported today that CEO Jennifer MacLean removed the title of chief executive from her LinkedIn profile and listed her departure as having occurred in March. John Blakely, senior vice president of product development, also revised his LinkedIn profile to show that he left the company this month. Joystiq has also been informed of continuing layoffs at the company, and that health insurance has run out.The value of 38 Studios' Amalur intellectual property is estimated to be in the range of $20 million, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. 38 Studios put up the IP as collateral against its $75 million loan, which could end up costing RI taxpayers $112 million if 38 Studios shutters.Update: 38 Studios employees have not been paid since May 1. WPRI reports 38 Studios may be ineligible for the millions of dollars in state tax credits because it isn't incorporated in Rhode Island.
