The state of Rhode Island, which obtained 38 Studios' assets last summer after the studio went bankrupt, now plans to sell off the Amalur franchise. A lawyer for the Ocean State told the Providence Journal today that unnamed parties have come forward and expressed interest in the assets. 
"Who knows what the value ultimately will be," said Richard J. Land of Chace Ruttenberg & Freedman. "But there is interest in the assets."
38 Studios' intellectual property includes drawings, designs, and other work related to its Amalur franchise. Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in August that the Amalur IP is worth around $20 million.
No interested parties were named, and Rhode Island's legal representation was not immediately available to comment.
In addition, the Providence Journal reports that the case against 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling and other company executives will begin on Wednesday. Rhode Island sued Schilling, a former Boston Red Sox pitcher, in November over the controversial 2010 $75 million loan that brought 38 Studios to the state.
When 38 Studios went belly-up, Rhode Island was left with an estimated $130 million debt. Selling the company's IP is an effort to recover some of that deficit.
The suit contains numerous claims and opens by alleging that the defendants did not speak with the Rhode Island Economic Development Committee board when doubts about 38 Studios' sustained financial viability became known.
"Defendants knew or should have known, but failed to inform the EDC Board, that 38 Studios was destined to fail according to 38 Studios' own financial projections," reads a line from the complaint.
In total, the complaint includes 17 counts of alleged wrongdoing. These include counts of fraud, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligence, legal malpractice, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Schilling has asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming it is "100 percent baseless."
Discussion
Finally, some good news out of this mess. KoA was an awesome game and hopefully whoever buys this IP will continue that legacy.
Hmm... hope the buyers didn't radically change the mechanics...
i really reckon CDPR should buy this
KoA is by far one of my favorites. The camera for battles sucked but the world and characters more than made up for being blindsided when surrounded.
I certainly hope this game gets another chance if put into the right hands.
soooo that's how microsoft will get a truckload of exclusives in the upcoming gen. :D
Definitely happy about this. Personally, I thought KoA was a really good game and could be made into an awesome game. I hope whoever gets it does good with it. I would love to see a sequel.
Will be interesting to see where the IP lands or if anyone even bids on it.
I have not finished Kingdoms of Amalur, the game was so big that running around with my character actually made me feel exhausted irl.
Yes! This is awesome News. I really hope someone picks this up quick. I would love to see a sequel on the new consoles as well as the MMO!!
thats great news. i hope whoever buys it makes the game much harder..it was far too easy, It kinda ruined it for me
Hands off EA!
Seems like the ingame character isnt the only one that is rising from the dead. Great news.
yeahhhh
valve is going to buy it. They wanted to make a fantasy game years ago and scrapped it. but they won't release the game.
Kingdom of Amalour has very good potential, only the timing went wrong as it was released when Skyrim and Diablo III was at the top of the chart.
i wanted to play project copernicus i really liked KOA, best combat ever.
Please! We need Kingdoms of Amalur 2! There's no other RPG with that level of fun combat.
Rhode Island is in debt for $130 million. They want to sell the only truly valuable asset that they have for $20 million. They loaned a video game company run by a baseball player with no business or game design experience, that had never before released a successful video game, $75 million to develop a brand new IP.
Rhode Island must be the worst run state in the Union.
Are all news (here on Gamespot) that mention Pachter written by Eddie Makuch? I didn't search previous news to be sure, but considering what I can recall, it seems that way. What are they? Uncle and nephew? Boyfriends? Ex-neighboors? Cousins? I can't imagine someone consistently using a guy with that high history of inaccuracy as source unless they have some form relationship outside the professional field.
It's, quite, a shame to see a company with potential going down the drain.
Sometimes i really don't understand why people pay so much for IP's... I mean really now for 20 million $ you can make a whole game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAUY1J8KizU
please, whoever buys it keep it the way it is. That was one of the biggest sleeper hits of the year
Microsoft should buy this because Kingdoms of Amalur is what Fable shouldve been. Deep combat, wonderful world, lots of loot, lots of exploration, REAL boss battles. Come on Microsoft!!
i will take it for 1 million
Is this the first state-owned video game franchise?
such bad luck for 38studios .... i really REALLY feel bad for them, they had a great vision but lots of bad luck
R.I.P.
20 million for Amalur IP seems way too much.
The only reason some THQ games/IP got auctioned with that high a price was:
1) it was because they were a bundle of IPs
2)sequel was already in the works
3)sequel was already made (notably metro:last light, it awaited minor polish & release only)
Still, Amalur was good (R.A. Salvatore made lore for over 10.000 years) which certainly attributes to something.
We will see.
Would be nice to see a sequel. Enjoyed the game.
Please don't let it be EA
Please don't let it be EA
Please don't let it be EA
I really hope someone will grab this IP and make an Kingdoms of Amalur 2, because I really enjoyed that game.
The MMO looked interesting as well, but we all know that won't happen.
"Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in August that the Amalur IP is worth around $20 million."
I wonder if he still thinks that given that all of those THQ IPs which were more commercially successful than Amalur sold for less.
omg sell it and let somebody make amular 2.. my cash is waiting for them...
So I get to see Ayln Shir again!
"Who knows what the value ultimately will be," said Richard J. Land of Chace Ruttenberg & Freedman. "But there is interest in the assets."
No **** there's intrest, the game sold well, reviewed well, and has a huge chuck of unused content left to cash in on. Turn their MMO into an SP, slap the name 'sequel' on it and boom, money. Lazy money, but easy money.
Yeah, Copernicus!!!! There is hope.
I offer 20 dollars.... cash
@snxx He just can't help regurgitating everything Nostradamuspachter preaches.
@navyguy21 would be a good exclusive
@diabolik_023 had nothing to do with bad luck. It was bad management that killed them.
@Riddick123 The combat was wonderful. Imagine having a game with the scope of Skyrim with the combat of Amalur.
@Dirk_McHardpeck You know EA published Kingdoms of Amalur right?
@Dirk_McHardpeck Kingdoms of EAmalur, lol. That scenario would turn it into a horror game instead :P.
@d3nR I'll go up to $25 that's top of the mark, That's the best I can do.
@Thanatos2k Not developed though.
@Thanatos2k just let them keep bashing ea let them live in their dream world were games are made with nobody getting paid anything
@OldKye @d3nR $25.50
@DeadlyMustard @Riddick123 @blackothh @RedLegZeff @OldKye @d3nR One GILLION.....and one penny :)
@Riddick123 @blackothh @RedLegZeff @DeadlyMustard @OldKye @d3nR One GILLION dollars!
@blackothh @RedLegZeff @DeadlyMustard @OldKye @d3nR 50 dollars and a bag of M&Ms
@RedLegZeff @blackothh @DeadlyMustard @OldKye @d3nR oh man, im out
@blackothh @DeadlyMustard @OldKye @d3nR 26.31 and a tic tac.
@DeadlyMustard @OldKye @d3nR $26.00