38 Studios has put Jennifer MacLean at the head of the board table, announcing the departure of former CEO Brett Close. Despite the studio being founded and chaired by former Red Sox player Curt Schilling, Brett Close had been the business face of the company. 38 emphasized Close had resigned from the position and was not fired from the studio that, despite making some interesting moves like acquiring Big Huge Games, has yet to produce anything of substance -- although we are told that everyone at the studio is hard at work.

MacLean previously worked at the company as senior vice president of business development. If MacLean lasts long enough to show us Copernicus and gets the studio producing product, that would be a start. We expect to see a little something of what MacLean -- and Close -- have been doing with the company sometime next year.

Update: Added line that we expect to hear something next year.

A representative for 38 Studios informs Joystiq that, despite some reports to the contrary, Copernicus does not currently have a release date. The clarification was made following The Boston Globe's report that the green monster studio Curt Schilling built is "targeting" a release of December 2010 for its MMO.

In a statement to Joystiq, the company revealed it has reached several significant milestones, but that the rumored release date goes back to when the development house first formed. 38 Studios plans to release Copernicus "when the project is complete to [its] standards and satisfaction." We've been told to expect the company to finally begin discussing details about the project next year.

[Via Big Download]

When 38 Studios CEO Brett Close told Joystiq that his company's acquisition of Big Huge Games from THQ was due in no small part to the "incredible veteran talent" at the developer – even singling out Oblivion and Morrowind designer Ken Rolston – we had assumed that he was also referring to the studio's CEO and Creative Director, Brian Reynolds. Yeah, you see where we're going with this ...

Social gaming developer Zynga (think: Mafia Wars) announced today that it has hired Reynolds to fill the newly created position of "chief designer" (a reaction to social gaming competitor Playdom's appointment of legendary game designer Steve Meretzky to the position of VP of game design last year?). Reynolds will "head up operations at Zynga East" in Baltimore, and "production efforts will be focused on creating new social network games ... with a strategic emphasis."

When asked for comment on Reynolds' departure, Close told Joystiq, "38 Studios highly values the vision and contributions of BHG founder Brian Reynolds to the portfolio of BHG products and the video game industry in general. We wish him great success in his new endeavor." But with Reynolds out, who's left to run things at BHG (they've still got titles in development after all)? Close said, "With regards to his position at BHG/38S, we are still evaluating roles and responsibilities between the two studios; the other founders and top talent at BHG are stepping up in the meantime."

Chief amongst those "stepping up" would be co-founder Tim Train, President and Chief Operations Officer of Big Huge Games, as well as the studio's General Manager. Train told us, "Having worked with Brian for seventeen years, I'm very excited to see what fresh ideas he'll bring to the social gaming space. I'm also happy to have a new studio in the Baltimore area that can attract new talent and investment to the region. We wish Zynga East the best!"

So: is Maryland joining Massachusetts as a mecca for East Coast game development? With just 12 to 15 employees at Zynga East, we're not quite ready to say that, but consider our curiosity officially piqued.

Is something in the air? While this week saw ZeniMax's acquisition of industry legend id Software, last month saw newcomer 38 Studios' acquisition of Big Huge Games, THQ's troubled developer that, like id, has rockstar status of its own. We had a chance to talk with 38 Studios' CEO Brett Close shortly after the announcement last month. On the plate: What will Big Huge be working on now? What's happening to the two titles BHG was working on for THQ? And when could we see something Copernicus-themed from Big Huge Games?

Joystiq: Why Big Huge games? And were you looking or considering any other developers to bring into the 38 Studios family?

Brett Close: Well, we've got 36 studios to go, of course.

Looks like THQ's short-lived ownership of Rise of Nations-developer Big Huge Games has finally come to a close, with upstart MMO dev 38 Studios announcing an acquisition today. According to this here press release, the "acquisition is a critical step in 38 Studios' strategy to deliver a broad range of entertainment products centered on its original fantasy IP, codenamed Copernicus."

So, Copernicus-themed projects only from here on out? 38 Studios' CEO and President, Brett Close, says, "The acquisition enables us to develop and deliver top-quality games in multiple genres that are based in a shared world, ultimately maximizing the value of our Copernicus MMOG and the intellectual property as a whole." However, the presser also mentions that BHG is actively developing an unnamed RPG for 360, PS3, and PC (ostensibly the rumored Ascendant), but makes no mention of God: The Game, in development for Wii. Will Ascendant be relocated into the world of Copernicus? We have no idea, but we do know that while BHG will be integrated into [Massachusetts-based] 38 Studios," the Maryland-based developer will stay put.

More as we learn it.

Focusing on riveting hot-button issues like "digital distribution, marketing, and in-game advertising," the MIT Sloan School of Management is kicking off its first ever "Business in Gaming " Conference (BiG) with BioShock magnate Ken Levine as inaugural keynote speaker.

We'll be there, Big Daddy statues and permanent markers in tow, and when we're not ogling KennyL we'll likely check out the panel featuring ex-Boston Red Soxer Curt Schilling of 38 Studios speaking about MMO business models. Hey, maybe he'll talk about that game his company's been making for three years! Code-named Copernicus? No? You don't remember that one? Yeah, neither do we.

Big Huge Games could be saved from the swinging axe, according to a report from Kotaku, which also details two games the company was in the middle of developing: God: The Game and Ascendant. God: The Game was planned for Wii, with obvious inspiration from games such as Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda, and seems to have been early in development based on the game art available.

The other title, Ascendant, was destined for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, and is (was?) an action RPG set in a fantasy world. A brief trailer for the game confirms that Ken Rolston, lead designer for Oblivion, was involved. Based on that trailer and some in-game shots, we'd say Big Huge Games was on the verge of living up to its name.

There could still be hope for these games, though. Unnamed sources claim that several buyers are checking out the developer, including Curt Schilling's 38 Studios. Hopefully, Big Huge Games can be big huge saved.

Curt Schilling may not have revealed any new information about Copernicus -- really, nothing new there -- but he's had reservations about choosing the MMO genre for the premiere title of his 38 Studios. Speaking with Adam Sessler on stage during the inaugural GamesBeat conference, he admitted, "There have been times in the past 24 months where I've thought to myself 'What the hell was I thinking?!' I should have made a first-person shooter."

When filling the ranks at his game development brainchild, 38 Studios, it makes sense that MMO-fan Curt Schilling would look to his pastime of choice. The company announced that it has hired former Blizzard UI maestro, Irena Pereira, as 38 Studios' senior UI designer, bringing her interface grinding expertise not only with World of Warcraft, but The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King to the fledgling company as well.

Additionally, when setting the mood in its secretive MMO project codenamed Copernicus, the dev will look to the musical styling of newly hired composer and sound designer, Aubrey Hodges, whose familiar tunes can be heard in such adventure game greats as King's Quest, Space Quest, Quest for Glory and Conquests of the Longbow. Hodges is credited as one of the chief pioneers of in-game MIDI music, and also helped make us jump with his ambient tracks heard in both Doom and Quake.

Both Pereira and Hodges are just the latest seasoned vets to join 38 Studios, following the hiring of former Everquest designer Travis McGeathy and THQ artist Thom Ang, making us all the more curious just what the company is working on behind that curtain.

It's no secret that baseballer Curt Schilling is a huge MMO fan, but you might not know much about his 38 Studios game development company, formed with artist Todd McFarlane and fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore. They've been working on a massive MMO code-named Copernicus, which they haven't said too much about yet. This week at Austin GDC, Vivox announced that it would be providing the voice application inside the game, and five pieces of key concept art were released at Comic-Con earlier this summer.

We sat down with CEO Brett Close in Austin to find out what we could about Copernicus, and what's in store for the new company. Check out the full interview after the break.

38 Studios has added a seasoned artist to its ranks, announcing the appointment of Thom Ang as the company's new director of art. In his new role, Ang will oversee the art management and direction of 38 Studios' projects, including "Copernicus," the outfit's ever-mysterious MMO undertaking.

A 15-year digital art and illustration vet, Ang joins the Curt Schilling-founded developer from THQ, where he handled things both artsy and fartsy for more that 25 of the company's titles. In addition, he also worked on TV shows such as The X-Files, and spent time in the trenches at EA Los Angeles handing art and team management for the Medal of Honor franchise. We're still in the dark as to what the studio is up to with Copernicus, though it's good to know the company has someone on board with the chops to help steer the ship down a more artistic path.

As the former lead designer of Everquest, Travis McGeathy has likely acquired just as many ardent fans as vengeful detractors, wishing they could get those thousands of click-click-clicking hours back. With your social life still in ruins, your cautious digestion of this bit of news from Gamasutra is probably for the best. You see, Mr. McGeathy is now the systems design lead for "Copernicus," Studio 38's mysterious MMO project.

He's not the only Everquest vet at the Curt Schilling-founded developer either, as former Everquest II lead designer, Jason Roberts, and Everquest II expansion pack designer, Steve Danuser, also occupy padded leather chairs at the Maynard, MA office. We've yet to see what lies behind the Copernicus veil, but we're starting to suspect there may be buxom, elfin ladies involved.

Add yet another developer to the Unreal roster. Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has announced (via GameDaily) that it has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for its MMO project Copernicus. The studio also recently licensed BigWorld's MMO dev tools.

Of course, given the tentative 2010 release, we don't expect to see any thing from the game for a at least another year. For now, all we've really got to think about is how the Mova facial technology would beautify the legendary baseball pitcher's avatar.

We continue to look to left field for any news involving Curt Schilling and 38 Studios' mysterious new MMO project codenamed Copernicus, and while the inking of a new license to use BigWorld's suite of MMO development tools isn't the most exiting development under the sun, the news does enough to keep the project on our radar, if only just.

Interestingly, BigWorld's software has become a touchstone for a number of companies looking to jump into the world of MMO development, including unannounced projects from John Romero's Slipgate Ironworks and Sierra Online, as well as Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment's Stargate Worlds. Little is known about what Schilling and his band of developers have planned for Copernicus, other than it is still being prototyped for its planned release sometime in the distant future known as late 2010, by which time we'll likely to have moved on from MMOs altogether to another pastime...like baseball.