The Kingdoms of Amalur developer has been forced to cut staff.
It looks like things are going to get worse at the beleaguered 38 Studios before they start to get better. The company was able to cover a loan payment of $1.125 million to the state of Rhode Island, but that left it unable to pay its employees last week. As a result of that ugly state of affairs, the studio has now reportedly been forced to make cuts to its staff.
“I believe it was a mix of who’s made payroll and a number of layoffs,” Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee revealed, although he declined to offer specific numbers.
38 Studios founder Curt Schilling was even less forthcoming about the situation. “There’s so much misinformation out there I cannot begin to clear it up with a sound bite,” he said following a closed-door meeting with Chafee and officials from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. “We’re not asking the taxpayers for more money.”
Chafee has already stated that while he’s pushing to keep 38 Studios afloat, giving it more money is not an option. “I know that the taxpayers want answers, and they’ll get them over time. All I can promise is that we’re working hard to protect every penny of the investment that was made,” he said. “Making sure this company somehow succeeds and we protect the tens of millions of dollars that we have already invested, and not getting in deeper.”
Chafee had earlier let slip than 38 Studios’ MMO, currently known only as “Project Copernicus,” is slated for launch in June 2013, and the company actually released a largely content-free promotional trailer yesterday. But with the game a full year away at best, and nothing of substance to show at this point, any layoffs at all could prove disastrous.
