38 Studios Finally Filed for Bankruptcy Today

A post on Joystiq today reports that 38 Studios has finally filed for bankruptcy after weeks of financial disasters and layoffs. Apparently, the FBI, State of Rhode Island, the attorney general and the US Attorney’s office are all investigating 38 Studios and how they used “the money that came from the state as well as the money that came from Bank Rhode Island.”

Filing for bankruptcy is generally the last resort of any company facing insurmountable debt. Bankruptcy filing usually entails restructuring debt in such a way so that the assets owned by the companies are parceled to debtors to satisfy the debts as best as possible. This means, basically, that Rhode Island will probably not get its money back, but that it will likely wind up owning the Amalur and Copernicus IPs.

Hopefully some company or other will find value in those properties and pay the state to take ownership so that a) more games in those franchises can come out and b) Rhode Island makes a little more of a dent in the $50 million that was spent by the studio.

Over the weekend, too, Epic Games swooped in and announced that they’d be trying to hire as many ex-employees of 38 Studios subsidiary Big Huge Games as possible. Will that mean that Epic will try to buy the Amalur IP? Or will the ex BHG employees start working on a medieval Gears of War RPG or something?

Obviously there’s more to this story. Stay tuned.

Via Joystiq

Previous Coverage

• Reports: Amalur Developer 38 Studios Struggling to Stay Afloat
• 38 Studios Missed First Loan Repayment
• Schilling’s 38 STudios Bounces $1.125 Million Check, Can’t Make Payroll
• 38 Studios Makes good on First Payment for $1.125 Million
• 38 Studios Lays Off Employees, Says Rhode Island Governor
• 38 Studios Execs Leave, Employees Unpaid Since May 1
• Screens from Project Copernicus Appear Online
• 38 Studios Lays Off Entire Staff
• Fired 38 Studios Employees Hit with Second Mortgages on Unsold Boston Houses
• Rhode Island Finds 38 Studios in Violation of Labor Laws for Sudden Layoffs
• Author R.A. Salvatore Weighs in on 38 Studios Fiasco
• Amalur 2 was in Pre-Production, Shopped Around to Other Publishers
• Schilling Speaks Out on 38 Studios Disaster
• Epic Games Helping Big Huge Games, Setting Up New Studio for Them