Sadly, shortly after dtp announced it is closing its doors, 38 Studios and Big Huge Games, the company behind the acclaimed Kingdoms of Amalur game, is doing the same.

Rpgwatch.com has this thread on the subject:

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17203

Gamasutra was the first gaming site to break the news wíth this info:



Kalniel's post is a re-post of a post in the reckoning forum by their Lead Designer Ian S. Frasier:

"Third, I wanted to apologize for the lack of a patch for Reckoning. It's something we very much wanted to do, but various issues outside our control (which unfortunately I'm not at liberty to disclose) prevented us from doing so for a long time. Finally we received clearance to do a PC-only patch, which wasn't ideal (we wanted to do a patch on all platforms) but it was better than nothing. So we commenced working on that--working on everything from miscellaneous bug fixes to Joe Q's addition of new camera features to Dakota's addition of two new difficulty modes...but before we finished, the company collapsed. Now, barring some sort of miracle, it is highly unlikely that any patch for Reckoning will ever see the light of day. I am deeply sorry that we were unable to get a patch out the door sooner, before this catastrophe struck--you supported us, and you deserve the support yourselves. While I consider Reckoning a very strong game and not especially buggy, that's not the same as saying that it's perfectly balanced or bug-free, and it kills me that I'll never get the chance to correct any of its issues. Once more, on behalf of Big Huge Games and the Reckoning development team, thank you for everything, and take care!"

http://forums.reckoning.amalur.com/showthread.php?10041-Thanks-Apologies-and-Farewell

So sadly, no patch for the KoA game...it seems.

It also seems that the CEO of Big Huge Games and 38 Studios paid himself before he paid the company e.g. he took out a big chunk of company cash in order for him to get paid. I Denmark, I think, this is against the law?, but I'm not sure...

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I hope for the about 370 employees and their families that they soon will find a new job - and they will do something so that they get paid the wages the studio owes them...

/Karsten

That is sad for everyone involved.
I really enjoyed KoA and was looking forward to future games from them.

Karsten, I've been watching this and it is very sad. I was just getting ready to buy Amalur for myself when this all was revealed.

Paying himself a huge chunk but not his employees reveals quite a bit about the character, or lack thereof, of the CEO.

"Paying himself a huge chunk but not his employees reveals quite a bit about the character, or lack thereof, of the CEO."

How very disgusting !!

I feel so sorry for those who are seemingly to be left with nothing

Does anyone know who now own the IP, I mean that of KoA: Reckoning. Who then will get the money from the game now, Rhode Island? As a recent post on the rpgwatch.com suggest?

I believe that paying oneself before the employees is illegal in Denmark and in most states in Europe....?

Let's hope that the devs. keep their heads cool and release the source code so that modders and the community can make a patch - unofficial as it will be...

Karsten, from what I read the rights go to the state because of a financing deal they made.

That's a shame. I've been playing the game and it is really a good game. You have to use origin in the same way that you have to use steam for other games. Origin belongs to EA I believe and I also have Dragon Age II on my Origin account. EA appears to be solvent so I wonder why they didn't just buy the rights or whatever to the game.

I also wonder how it's going to effect future play for those who already own the game.

I think EA published the game in retail, then EA decided to put it on Steam. Steam then pays EA who then in turn pay 38 Studios and Big Huge Games.

However, it is possible that EA didn't pay 38 Studios and BHG on time, or that in the contracts it said that 38 Studios only their money once every 6 months or so. And that they had to pay the money, some say 50M US dollars, back to EA first.

And yes, it seems very probable that EA will buy BHG next...