Hope springs eternal for Kingdoms of Amalur fans after news has come out that the IP is going to be auctioned off by the city of Rhode Island.
The one released Kingdoms of Amalur game, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, was a single player action RPG boasting a rich fantasy universe collaborated on by author R. A. Salvatore and former baseball pitcher turned game developer Curt Schilling. The game also boasted a broad range of character customization and upgrade options (four races and three classes), and timing based combat with QTEs, but a huge emphasis on strategy and proper RPG playing. The game enjoyed positive reception and sold 1.8 million copies.
Unfortunately, the game’s merits have been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding its failure in the market, needing to sell 3 million copies to break even and making below that. Developer 38 Studios borrowed from the city of Rhode Island, in the amount of $ 75 million, with Schilling selling the city on the game’s surefire success.
While the loan continues to be investigated, the existing Kingdoms of Amalur asset, codenamed Project Copernicus, will be offered up for bids on a website in the near future. Project Copernicus was planned to be a MMORPG, and 38 Studios even bought another studio, Big Huge Games, in the interim, to help with its development.
38 Studios and Big Huge Games are both done with game development, but 38 Studios hopes that the sale will go well, as they say assets being developed for the game are current with the industry.
Unfortunately, 38 Studios and Kingdoms of Amalur has accrued a negative reputation in the past few years, but perhaps a fresh start can give the franchise the second start it may deserve.
Image is from a Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning production sketch.
Source: Gamrreview
