Rhode Island today seized possession of all assets from the now-defunct 38 Studios, which laid off all its staff back in May. The state will now try to sell off those assets, which includes the intellectual property from Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the studio's first and last released title, as well as all assets from Project Copernicus, the unfinished MMORPG the studio was working on.
A U.S. bankruptcy judge granted Rhode Island, along with the Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., the rights to the assets, which, if sold, will help the state pay back the $50 million loan it initially granted 38 Studios -- a loan the studio was ultimately unable to pay back.
While the old news of the studio's shuttering and the misfortune it brought upon Rhode Island and its taxpayers is still terrible, maybe the thought of a publisher buying the Amalur IP and making something new for the world can put a slight smile on the faces of the original game's fans. And, hey, if you're a fan with millions of dollars to his or her name, maybe you can give Rhode Island a call yourself!
(Er, Rhode Island, if someone from the site does call you and buy the assets, I'll take a 10 percent cut. Thanks.)
