38 Studios

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38 Studios, LLC
Private
Industry Computer and video games
Fate Bankrupt
Founded Maynard, Massachusetts 2006 (2006)
Defunct 2012
Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Key people
Subsidiaries
Slogan World Domination Through Gaming

38 Studios, LLC, formerly Green Monster Games, LLC, was an American entertainment and IP development company founded in 2006 by Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling and named for his jersey number. Originally based in Massachusetts, the company moved to Rhode Island as part of securing a $75 million loan guarantee from that state's quasi-public Economic Development Corporation (EDC). In February 2012, the company released its only title, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a single-player action role-playing video game for several platforms. The game received positive reviews and sold an estimated 330,000 copies in its first month, rising to 1.2m copies in the first 90 days.[2][3] 38 Studios shut down a few months later. The failure of the controversial Rhode Island loan spurred investigations by the news media and the government.

History

During a family holiday gathering in December 2005, Schilling approached his wife's uncle, Bill Thomas, a retired business executive, with the idea to start a video game company focused on building a new MMORPG, a type of game that Schilling frequently played and enjoyed. Later the next year he announced his plans to six of his gaming friends while chatting online, asking them, "I'm seriously contemplating starting a gaming company. Who else is in?" Schilling recruited these friends, his uncle Thomas, and author R. A. Salvatore and author/artist Todd McFarlane to join his venture, and formally announced the formation of Green Monster Games (GMG) in a press release in September 2006.[4]

In 2006, the company leased 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of office space in downtown Maynard, Massachusetts at the historic Clock Tower.[5] The President and CEO of the company was Brett Close,[6] and the CTO was Jon Laff, formerly of Electronic Arts.[7]

At the start of spring training in 2007, the company was renamed from Green Monster Games to 38 Studios to give a "... more accurate reflection of what our company is working to achieve."[8] Contrary to popular belief, Schilling has stated that the company's original name was not taken from the Green Monster wall in Fenway Park. He is quoted on the Fires of Heaven Guild message boards, posting under his EQ characters name, Ngruk, saying, "The GMG name was—and I know this is going to be impossible to believe—not named after the left-field wall at Fenway. The name was made up by someone who knew next to nothing about baseball and isn't even from this country."[9] In 2008, the company hired Travis McGeathy, a former lead designer for Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest.[10] 38 Studios acquired Rise of Nations developer Big Huge Games from THQ on May 27, 2009.[11] On August 21, 2009, 38 Studios announced that Brett Close had left the company, and Jen MacLean, former SVP of Business Development, had been named the new CEO.[12]

In July 2010, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (EDC) approved a $75 million loan guarantee to 38 Studios. 38 Studios had promised to bring 450 jobs to the state by the end of 2012.[13] On November 3, 2010, 38 Studios announced the closure of its $75 million financing package in conjunction with the EDC and the relocation of the Maynard, Massachusetts development studio to One Empire Plaza, Providence, Rhode Island, in early 2011.[14] On April 8, 2011, 38 Studios began relocation from the Maynard location to the new studio home in Providence. Over 160 employees began working in the new space on April 12, exceeding agreed upon job creation and relocation milestones.[15]

The company simultaneously developed two initial products. The first, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a single-player game, was developed by the company's Big Huge Games subsidiary, published by Electronic Arts, and released in North America on February 7, 2012 and in Europe on February 10, 2012.[16] Reckoning was introduced to the public at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International convention.[17] The game enjoyed moderate success.[18] The second title, code-named Copernicus, was a massively multiplayer game developed by the Maynard/Providence studio. The game was still in development when the company declared bankruptcy.

Author R. A. Salvatore created over ten thousand years of backstory for the Amalur IP,[19] and Todd McFarlane provided art direction for both products.[20][21][22]

Bankruptcy

The state of Rhode Island became concerned over 38 Studios' finances after the company defaulted on a $1.125 million loan payment.[23] The studio had sent a check that bounced due to insufficient funds.[24] Keith Stokes, executive director of Rhode Island's EDC, later announced his resignation.[25][26] The second payment attempt by the studio on May 18, seventeen days past the initial due date[24] and in the form of a $1,025,000 wire transfer and a $100,000 personal check from an unnamed source, was successful.[27] However, 38 Studios consequently was unable to make payroll that week.[24] WPRI reported that both CEO Jennifer MacLean and Senior Vice President of Product Development John Blakely had indicated that they had left the company; MacLean dated her departure to March 2012, when she took a leave of absence.[28]

On May 24, 2012, 38 Studios officially declared bankruptcy, ceasing operations and laying off both its entire staff and that of Big Huge Games via a mass email.[18] The Rhode Island state police, the attorney general's office, the U.S. Attorney's office, and the FBI began launching investigations into the company.[1] Schilling publicly addressed the studio's failure on Boston radio station WEEI, revealing that he never took a salary and ended up losing his entire personal fortune of $50 million. "I'm tapped out. ... I put everything in my name in this company. But I'm not asking for sympathy. That was my choice."[29]

The state of Rhode Island filed a lawsuit in November 2012 against Schilling, Stokes, and other backers of 38 Studios.[26] The state's economic development agency settled for $4.4 million on June 27, 2014.[30] On May 19, 2014, WPRI reported that some studio executives from 38 Studios knew that the money they accepted from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation was not enough to finish development on Project Copernicus.[31]

Games developed

  • Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
    • North American Release Date: February 7, 2012
    • European Release Date: February 10, 2012
  • Project Copernicus (MMO) - Unreleased

References

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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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