Footage of Defunct 38 Studios' MMO Project Copernicus Emerges

Remember way back in 2012 when 38 Studios, co-developer of role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, went bankrupt and collapsed? The team had been working on a massively multiplayer online game at the time, temporarily entitled Project Copernicus, which was canceled with the closure of the studio. Nothing much was known and very little had been seen of the game.

A recent report by a local Rhode Island NBC branch has revealed footage of the game. In Providence, one man remains as the last remnant of 38 Studios. Jeff Easley, the developer's last employee, is tasked with maintaining the technical side of Copernicus, basically keeping it afloat until the property can be sold. A video interview with Easley shows off some of Copernicus, including some shots of the world and a playable character. You can watch the interview and footage here.

There's not much, but you can see some off-screen footage of what looks like a gameplay trailer for the game. There are some sweeping clips of the land of Copernicus, and a couple short segments where a character is running across some hills. This is the first footage of the game in its playable state. Previously, all that had been shown was a world fly-through trailer, which you can watch above.

At an auction last December, 38 Studios properties Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends were purchased, but Kingdoms of Amalur and Copernicus were not picked up. A law firm hired by the government of Rhode Island is working on finding a buyer for the two properties, but there's no indication if they'll be picked up anytime soon.

The collapse began when 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling, ex-Red Sox baseball pitcher, was unable to keep up on debt payments to the state of Rhode Island for a $75 million dollar loan to the developer. After that, the government assumed ownership of the company and shut it down. The government then filed a lawsuit against Curt Schilling and other architects of the state's loan to the studio. In January, the state's governor submitted a proposal to end the lawsuit in a settlement.

Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about Copernicus and Amalur when it becomes available.