38 Studios, developer of Kingdoms of Amalur and the (hopefully) upcoming Project Copernicus has been subject to more hardship than the public had realized.
Jennifer MacLean, now ex Studio Head, has made public her departure via LinkedIn, it seems she actually left back in March, though word hadn’t spread outside of the confines of the studio until very recently. John Blakely, former Senior Vice President also jumped ship back in April, so tells his LinkedIn profile page.
38 Studios have been unsuccessful in their attempts to find much-needed funding. Just last week word came to light that the company were unable to pay staff wages and it seems now that the studio’s health insurance has expired.
The studio was built on a $75 million government loan from the Rhode Island state funds. It’s possible that, upon the closure of 38 Studios, local taxpayers may lose anything up to a massive $112 million.
Lincoln Chaffee, Governor of Rhode Island, has stated that he’ll do “everything he can to prevent that,” though couldn’t give a definitive answer on whether the studio will definitely stay afloat.
The company have been subject to much scrutiny and financial hardship since Xbox 360 and PS3 title Kingdoms of Amalur failed to reach sales expectations earlier this year.
Project Copernicus, which shares a universe with Kingdoms of Amalur, is currently in development though whether the studio will stay afloat to finish it is something perhaps only time can tell.
