Curt Schilling and the Kingdoms of Amalur Overview
Curt Schilling is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who founded 38 Studios, a video game company that developed Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The action RPG launched in February 2012 and received strong reviews at release. The project became a high-profile case study in game industry finance and public subsidy risk.
38 Studios was founded in 2006 and relocated to Rhode Island in 2011 after securing a $75 million loan guarantee from the state. The company's only shipped title was Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, developed with a team that grew to over 300 employees. The studio also acquired the rights to the Massively Multiplayer Online game Project Copernicus, which remained unreleased.
38 Studios Financial Collapse and Debt
Rhode Island Loan Guarantee and Default
In May 2012, 38 Studios failed to make a $1.125 million payment on the state-guaranteed loan. The company defaulted on the full remaining balance, triggering a state-led investigation and multiple lawsuits. The Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation took control of the company's assets, including the intellectual property for Kingdoms of Amalur.
The total cost to Rhode Island taxpayers was estimated at over $100 million when the loan guarantee was fully settled. The company filed for bankruptcy in June 2012, and its assets were sold in a series of auctions. Curt Schilling personally guaranteed a portion of the debt and faced separate civil proceedings. The case is frequently cited in analyses of state-backed venture financing and public oversight of private companies.
Aftermath, IP Sales, and Industry Impact
Kingdoms of Amalur IP and Subsequent Releases
The Kingdoms of Amalur intellectual property was acquired by THQ Nordic in a bankruptcy auction. THQ Nordic later published a remastered version, Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, in September 2020. The game remains available on PC and consoles, and the IP continues to generate revenue separate from the original studio.
The 38 Studios collapse influenced state-level policy on economic development incentives and video game publishing risk. Public records and reports from the Rhode Island State Police and the Economic Development Corporation detail the financial transactions and decision timeline. The case is referenced in industry analyses of studio financing, publisher risk, and the role of government-backed loans in creative-sector startups.