Finally, somebody bought the 38 Studios IPs, and that somebody is THQ Nordic.
I’m sure I don’t need to recap the 38 Studios mess to stalwart MMORPG veterans, but let me refresh your memory just in case: Baseball star and video game fan Curt Schilling created 38 Studios in 2006 to build games, including PC RPG Kingdoms of Amalur, which launched, and MMORPG Project Copernicus, which never did. That was because 38 Studios went bankrupt in 2012 in tandem with a major political scandal that rocked the government of Rhode Island and led to an SEC investigation and multiple lawsuits. It is still considered today one of the biggest messes the MMORPG genre – and gaming itself – has ever seen. The IPs had been shopped around for a while, but during the 2013 auction, nobody grabbed ’em.
Here’s the press release; it appears THQ Nordic bought both properties, though of course it’s not entirely certain that the company will actually finish Project Copernicus at all, let alone as an MMORPG.
“THQ Nordic today announced that the acquisition of the intellectual property ‘Kingdoms of Amalur’ has been finalized with 38 Studios LLC, based in Providence, RI, US. The deal also covered the acquisition of the ‘Amalur’ – based on the abandoned MMORPG project ‘Copernicus’. The acquisition itself is being handled by THQ Nordic AB, based in Karlstad, Sweden, and daily operations (sales and distribution, evaluation of sequels & new content etc.) will be done via THQ Nordic GmbH in Vienna, Austria.”
The MOP team’s pre-2015 coverage of the 38 Studios fiasco is currently on Frankengadget; 2015 and beyond is right here.
We are beyond proud to announce that THQ Nordic has acquired the "Kingdoms of Amalur" IP, among other assets, from 38 Studios.#THQNordic #KingdomsofAmalur pic.twitter.com/YSnXPm7M7e
— THQ Nordic (@THQNordic) September 6, 2018
What could’ve been:
