Curt Schilling and Others Agree to $2.5 Million Settlement Over Failed Game Studio

The latest chapter in the 38 Studios case has unfolded.

The Associated Press reports today that former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling and a group of others have agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a case related to his failed video game studio.

Schilling moved 38 Studios from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010 thanks to a controversial $75 million loan that promised to bring hundreds of jobs to The Ocean State. 38 Studios and EA released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in 2012, but not long after, the studio went belly up, closing down operations and laying off employees.

The Rhode Island Commerce Corp. announced the settlement agreement today; it must still be approved by a judge. If that happens, the total amount of settlement payments in the 38 Studios case would stand at around $45 million of the initial $75 million loan guarantee.

"Lawyers for the Commerce Corp. asked the court to approve the settlement, saying in court documents that it's a 'highly unusual case' in which it 'makes no economic sense whatsoever' for the parties to proceed to trial rather than proceed with the proposed settlement," the AP reported.

Schilling reportedly invested $50 million of his own money into 38 Studios before it went bankrupt.

Go to the AP to get the full story.

In April, ESPN fired Schilling over his social media commentary. He now has a radio show on Howie Carr's network.

The 38 Studios collapse began when Schilling was unable to keep up on debt payments to the state of Rhode Island for the aforementioned $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 Schilling and other architects of the state's loan to the studio.

At an auction in December 2013, 38 Studios properties Rise of Nations and Rise of Legends were purchased, but Kingdoms of Amalur and the MMO Copernicus were not picked up. Subsidiary Big Huge Games, which was closed amid the 38 Studios bankruptcy, was resurrected by co-founder Brian Reynolds.

In September 2015, the Rhode Island Superior Court released thousands of documents and deposition transcription excerpts pertaining to the loan agreement.

This story has been updated.