Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

State Of Rhode Island Might End Up Owning Amalur

Tagged

State Of Rhode Island Might End Up Owning Amalur

Published: by Cheat Code Central Staff | Leave a comment

None

Kingdoms of Amalur developer 38 Studios received several bonds from the state of Rhode Island to continue their game development. Should they default on these bonds, the taxpayers of Rhode Island itself will be responsible for paying back $112.6 million (that’s $75 million plus interest, as calculated by WPRI News) through 2020. Yes, the taxpayers of Rhode Island will suffer because a game studio failed. That’s one heck of a sticky situation.



In a weird twist, if 38 Studios cannot pay back these bonds, then Rhode Island itself will own the Kingdoms of Amalur IP. This is the first instance we can recall of a state owning a game franchise. Usually in situations like this, the state auctions off the property to the highest bidder in an attempt to reclaim its losses. Should an interested developer pay a price higher than the debt owed, the rest of those profits will go to 38 studios. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that the Kingdoms of Amalur IP will sell for even close to the amount it needs to in order for this to happen.

To be fair, though, according to WPRI, about $23.4 million of the original $75 million loan has been set aside for the purpose of paying this amount back.

By Angelo M. D’Argenio

To top