Joystiq

38 Studios liquidation valued in tens of millions by RI, gov. will get every penny he can for taxpayers

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:10:00 EST

38 Studios declared bankruptcy earlier this afternoon and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee held a press conference this afternoon to discuss the company's assets, which now belong in part to Rhode Island taxpayers.

"We have had in recent days discussions with investors that were and, to my knowledge, are discussing substational numbers, which indicate that there could be significant value to the assets," said Jonathan Savage, council to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. "I can say that discussions we've had have been in the tens of millions of dollars."

"We are going to do everything possible to maximize return on our investment," declared Governor Chafee. "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." Earlier this year, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter told us that he expected 38 Studios' IP to be worth approximately $20 million.

38 Studios liquidation valued in tens of millions by RI, gov. will get every penny he can for taxpayers originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Jun 2012 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analyst estimates Amalur IP worth $20 million, 38 Studios employees head to job fair

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:30:00 EST

The value of 38 Studios' Amalur intellectual property is estimated to be in the range of $20 million. We asked Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter for his valuation following confirmation of layoffs at the studio and coverage of 38 Studios employees flocking to Turbine's recruitment drive in Providence last night.

"Nobody is buying MMOs after Star Wars fizzled. I think value is low, probably $20 million or so," Pachter said. "There is just no demand for game assets right now, as THQ proved when it tried to sell the Warhammer MMO. I think [Electronic Arts] could step in, since they are the publisher, so you might see some alternative way to get 38 some bridge financing."

Electronic Arts had been the publisher on the Big Huge Games developed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, but has yet to confirm it would publish 38 Studios' "Project Copernicus."

"Nope - never been an announcement on that," Jeff Brown of EA corporate communications told Joystiq. "We don't have any new announcements to make regarding 38 Studios. We enjoyed working with Curt and his team on their first game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Like game fans all over the world, we look forward to what 38 Studios creates next."

With reports out of Providence delivering an uncertain near future for the studio, it wouldn't be surprising if publishers tried to pick up the Amalur IP for pennies on the dollar. However, with documents showing that 38 Studios put up the IP as collateral against the $75 million loan, anybody trying to pick up the IP will be negotiating with the state of Rhode Island for control of Amalur.

Analyst estimates Amalur IP worth $20 million, 38 Studios employees head to job fair originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 May 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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38 Studios staffing up with MMO vets for Amalur

Mike Schramm — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 EST

Now that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is out and available, 38 Studios may be in a position to return to its storied "Project Copernicus." A few recent hires at Curt Schilling's studio make it seem that way. 38 has picked up both John Blakely, who worked on DCUO and Everquest 2, and Mark Hanson, who was involved with the now-extinct Lego Universe Online. Blakely will serve as 38's senior VP of development, while Hanson will be senior VP of operations and business.

Of course, both of those positions are fairly high up on the management chain, so they don't necessarily mean that 38 is right in the midst of Copernicus' main development just yet. But given that Kingdoms is out with solid sales numbers to back it up, it wouldn't be too surprising to see 38 Studios itching to get rolling on its MMO title set in the land we now know as Amalur.

38 Studios staffing up with MMO vets for Amalur originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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