38 Studios intellectual property will finally be going on the auction block on December 11th 2013. Among the assets being sold that day is a previously unknown Mac title Rise of Nations: Tactics.
During the due diligence investigation period the unannounced and completed title was discovered much to the surprise of just about everyone involved.
The auction includes intellectual property rights to the “Amalur” fantasy universe that former Red Sox star Curt Schilling’s company created and the never completed massively multiplayer online role-playing game, codenamed “Project Copernicus.” 38 Studios had been working to develop that online game with the $75-million loan guarantee the company received from the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. However, work on that project ended when 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy in June 2012, a move that put Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook to repay as much as $102 million for bonds that were issued by the EDC to raise cash for 38 Studios.
Other assets to be sold in this auction include the sequel rights to “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,” the video game that 38 Studios released just months before the company collapsed; merchandising rights associated with that game; intellectual property rights to games created by Big Huge Games, including “Rise of Nations” and “Rise of Legends”; and in-house video-game technology created by both 38 Studios and its subsidiary.
The auction was originally set to take place in mid November but was delayed due to greater than anticipated interest in the property. Among rumored bidders are Take Two Interactive and Electronic Arts.
