Kingdoms of Amalur Developer 38 Studios Finally Pays Back Wages

Former employees of Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios are finally receiving a portion of their final paychecks nearly 10 years after it shut down, closing another chapter in the collapse of the PC and console game developer.


Published: August 20, 2021 4:40 PM /

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Kingdoms of Amalur Developer 38 Studios paychecks bankruptcy cover

Former Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios has finally paid some of the money owed to former employees, closing a chapter in the story of Curt Schilling's game development studio going bankrupt.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was, at the time, an ambitious idea for an MMORPG that wanted to take on the likes of World of Warcraft. Created by former baseball pitcher Curt Schilling, the studio spent a lot of money making a game that ultimately failed to deliver on its promise.

The fallout of this failure was pretty severe — the state of Rhode Island sued 38 studios in 2012 as part of an effort to recoup a $75 million loan that was given to the company as an incentive to move to that region. Ultimately, a $2.5 million settlement was reached with Schilling.

Since then, Embracer Group — then known as THQ Nordic — acquired the IP and eventually relaunched the game as a somewhat more polished product called Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning, the existence of which was accidentally leaked by Microsoft. An expansion for the revived game was subsequently announced.

Things seemed to be winding down for Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios, but there was still one big problem — quite a few former employees were owed back pay. After nearly a decade of waiting, some of these developers were finally able to collect some of the money they were owed.

Kingdoms of Amalur Developer 38 Studios paychecks bankruptcy slice

Former Kingdoms of Amalur Developer 38 Studios Settles Old Debts... Mostly

Around 400 former employees of Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios were owed their final paychecks. Now, some of these people are getting some of the money they were owed.

As Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports, payments ranging from 14–20% of the owed amount have been sent out and received by some of these former employees. It surely takes away some of the sting of the company's collapse, but not everyone had it so easy.

Some employees have told Bloomberg that the checks were sent out to old addresses and they haven't yet received them. Others recounted horror stories of suddenly owing a mortgage on older properties that were supposed to be picked up by 38 Studios as a perk of their employment.

Either way, this is one more step — and perhaps the final one — in the saga of 38 Studios collapse. Their legacy will live on through the game they helped create — you can buy Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning for PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch via its official website starting at $39.99 or your regional equivalent.

What do you think of former 38 studios employees finally receiving a portion of their final paycheck? What did you think of the game when you first got to play it? Let us know in the comments below!

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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Developer
38 Studios
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Platforms
PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Release Date
February 7, 2012 (Calendar)
Genre
RPG
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