Tacticular Cancer: We'll have your balls

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Company News 38 Studios Entire Staff Laid Off, Amalur Needed 3mil Sold To Break Even

Discussion in 'RPG Codex News & Content Comments' started by Crooked Bee, May 25, 2012.

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  1. Crooked Bee Nyadmin Patron

    Crooked Bee
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    #1
    Click here and disable ads!
    Tags: 38 Studios; Big Huge Games; Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

    In the biggest industry news of the day, Curt Schilling's 38 Studios has laid off its entire staff, including that of Big Huge Games, the Amalur co-developer, due to financial problems. That means 379 employees out of job now, who learned about their layoff via the following small memo:

    The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary.

    These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary.

    This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012.

    Another "funny" thing is, despite the recent government loan of $75 mil, the government knew nothing of the layoffs, informs Destructoid:

    Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee held a press conference earlier today in which he said experts told him that Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, 38 Studios' first game, needed to sell "in the 3 million range" in order to break even. According to studio founder Curt Schilling, Reckoning sold 1.2 million copies in its first three months of release. To Chafee and Rhode Island, that means "the game failed."

    Governor Chafee's office had been in contact with Schilling yesterday, and others at 38 as recently as today, yet had no idea that the studio had laid off its entire staff shortly before the press conference. He heard the news during the press conference when journalists raised questions about the layoffs. 38 itself has still released no official comment; it is unclear if the company is planning to declare bankruptcy. If it does go under, ownership of all of 38 Studios' IP would transfer to Rhode Island's taxpayers.

    Joystiq has some quotes from the press conference. In any case, whatever Curt Schilling is up to with the sudden radical layoffs, now we know 3 million copies were needed for Kingdoms of Amalur to break even, but the game "only" sold 1.2 million.
    Kz3r0 and Oriental European Brofist this.

  2. FrancoTAU Liturgist

    FrancoTAU
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    #2
    How the hell does a developer even spend $75M in a couple years? Only the government could look at this business model and think yeah the ex baseball player could make this work.

  3. Zed RPG Codex Staff

    Zed
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    #3
    New IP, multiplatform ARPG, relatively unknown developer/publisher... "needed to sell in the 3 million range".
    They should hire me. I could do thinking for them.
    Araanor, gromit, CappenVarra and 6 others Brofist this.

  4. OldSkoolKamikaze Liturgist Patron

    OldSkoolKamikaze
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    #4
    Sucks to be Rhode Island taxpayers. Hopefully they have an election coming up.
    Doc Savage Brofists this.

  5. Cloaked Figure Arcane

    Cloaked Figure
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    #5
    "Only" sold 1.2 million.

    Here's an idea: instead of blaming the amount of sales, which is actually quite a respectable number for a new IP in this particular genre, maybe try not to spend a ridiculous amount of money developing it.

    When TW1 hit 1 mil years ago we were celebrating. Now 1 mil has become too small for these ingrates.
    Edward_R_Murrow and villain of the story Brofist this.

  6. Whisky The Solution Patron

    Whisky
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    #6
    They required 3 million copies sold to break even? Were they on drugs when they planned out their budget?
    gromit, Jedi_Learner, deuxhero and 6 others Brofist this.

  7. Metro Magister

    Metro
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    #7
    Rhode Island Taxpayers, a 90% off Steam sale will fix this stat!
    villain of the story and Infinitron Brofist this.

  8. RK47 No time like the present Patron

    RK47
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    #8
    That dude who wrote Forgotten Realm and contributed to their lore took home 5 mil when the game shipped. What do you think?

  9. Humanity has risen! Magister Patron

    Humanity has risen!
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    #9
    Kingdoms of Amalur wasn't made in a second world country where the employees are paid 6-7 times lower.

  10. Jaesun Fabulous Moderator Patron

    Jaesun
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    #10
    It's sad Ian got caught up in such a terrible studio.

  11. RK47 No time like the present Patron

    RK47
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    #11
    Former Baseball Star vs Former Astronaut: Which is better at game dev and why?

  12. Infinitron RPG Codex Staff Patron

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    #12
    Actually the previous governor was the one responsible.

  13. tiagocc0 Erudite

    tiagocc0
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    #13
    Damned, my AI Mentor worked there..

  14. Metro Magister

    Metro
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    #14
    If Schilling had any decency he'd personally ensure these people at the very least had health coverage until they found another job.
    villain of the story Brofists this.

  15. Country_Gravy Erudite

    Country_Gravy
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    #15
    Seriously? That's crazy.

  16. Executer Phrenologist Patron

    Executer
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    #16
    That's insanity, they could of gotten a team of writers for a fraction of that money.

    What was the state thinking when they backed this business plan?

  17. RK47 No time like the present Patron

    RK47
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    #17
    They could've gotten Wasteland 2 and banner saga.

  18. circ Prophet

    circ
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    #18
    Not only a team of writers, but a team of writers that's not considered a hack even amongst hacks.
    Metro Brofists this.

  19. DarkUnderlord Janitor

    DarkUnderlord
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    #19
    Guys, I've got this great idea for a game!!

    You gives me the $75M naow plz?
    DragoFireheart Brofists this.

  20. Executer Phrenologist Patron

    Executer
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    #20
    Need to read your BG2 fanfiction before I can judge your credentials and commit.
    GreyViper and herostratus Brofist this.

  21. RK47 No time like the present Patron

    RK47
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    #21

  22. Excommunicator Cipher

    Excommunicator
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    #22
    This is probably the most disastrous story in the game industry to date. The worst part is certainly the way Big Huge Games is absorbed into their ridiculous plan and then the entire team loses their jobs. This stuff should be illegal.

  23. Shannow Waster of Time

    Shannow
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    #23
    Wow.
    Somebody's got to put this into perspective for me. "$75 mil" would mean 75 thousand in German since "mio" would be the short for million. But I guess they really mean million.
    Why, for fucks sake, would a government even consider giving that kind of money to a game development studio?!? Isn't that the US? Home of the free market?
    Did they at least work on more titles than KoA? Or does KoA really seem like a $75 mio game to anyone?

  24. Cloaked Figure Arcane

    Cloaked Figure
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    #24
    Then maybe they shouldn't have had 400 employees working for them.

    Maybe they shouldn't have spent 75 million dollars developing the game.

    Oh but I'm sorry, they somehow deserve to have made 3 million sales just because they didn't know how to balance their budget and/or were brimming with pride and could not foresee themselves NOT making those 3 million.

  25. Morkar illiterate

    Morkar
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    #25
    When you consider how much politicians in Germany put into shady themepark investments (Nürburgring)...
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