Kingdoms of Amalur reckoning early next year

Electronic Arts today released its results for the January-March period (its fiscal fourth quarter), showing the stretch to be a particularly strong one for the publisher. Next year's fiscal fourth quarter is also shaping up to be pretty important for the publisher, as today EA added BioWare's Mass Effect 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning to a January-March 2012 lineup that already featured SSX.

Originally tagged with a fall 2011 release date, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be the first game released from 38 Studios, the outfit founded by former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling. Reckoning began life at THQ's Big Huge Games under the code name "Project Mercury," but when the publisher revealed its intention to close the outfit, 38 Studios struck a deal to acquire both the project and the developer. At the time, EA Partners general manager David DeMartini said that EA will play "air traffic control for [role-playing game] fans" to make sure the game's launch didn't conflict with that of any BioWare titles.

The fantasy-themed RPG will feature a number of genre staples, from skeleton warriors and cave trolls to swords and sorcery. Players will be able to dictate the progression of their protagonists, choosing and developing a variety of skills that will determine an optimum play style as well as character classes.

For more on Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.