38 Studios Lays Off Employees, Says Rhode Island Governor

A post on Joystiq from late last night reported that Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios has begun laying off employees, a situation apparently confirmed by Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee. However, it’s not known how many employees were let go, or whether the other employees are being paid, as there were reports last week that the company couldn’t make its payroll.

For those of you just joining us, it was uncovered last week that 38 Studios, the developer behind Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, had been unable to begin paying back the $75 million loan Rhode Island’s government had made to them in 2010 to convince the company to move there from Boston. They had missed their first loan payment of $1.125 million, which had been due on May 1, and had met with the state’s Economic Development Company to seek more money. Later, a check they’d written to the state would have bounced, so it was returned to the company. By the end of the week, however, the studio managed to make its payment, though it’s unclear where all the cash for the payment had come from.

We’ll continue to update as we learn more about the situation as it develops. Our condolences go out to anyone affected by the layoffs.

Via Joystiq