“A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE LIKE ‘You have no idea what you’re getting into.’ I hope that after this people will think of me a little differently.” That’s what former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling told me back in January, just before his company, 38 Studios, was poised to release its first product, a swords and sorcery-themed video game called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Unfortunately, after the spectacular implosion of 38 Studios over the last two months, those words have taken on new shades of meaning.
In May, 38 Studios defaulted on a $1.125 million loan payment, then laid off hundreds of employees. On June 7, it declared bankruptcy, owing nearly $151 million (not including the debts of the Maryland company it bought in 2009). Then came news of a federal investigation and lawsuit by a lender.
Comments
Terrific in-depth peek behind the curtain and insights... well done, and the reason why Globe Magazine readers are so loyal. Well done, Mr. Gilsdorf!
Why in the world would RI believe he'd bring 450 jobs to their state?? Compare that to Blizzard (1000 jobs worldwide) that has made THREE household name games: World of Warcraft (over 10 million users), Starcraft and Diablo. They're the most successful game developer in the world with decades of experience and an incredible track record. Due diligence anyone??
Not much new here. I would like to know whether it's true that 38 failed to get tax credits due to not being incorporated in RI. I would like to know what outside investors RI was counting on, when it made the loan. I would like to know why 38 couldn't give employees notice, before failing to run payroll. 14 days' notice is normal - and normally doable.