14 DAY TRIAL // 38 Studios, former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's online gaming outfit, will be moving out of Maynard, Massachusetts and will be heading to Rhode Island. This was prompted by Rhode Island agreeing to sign a 75 million dollars loan guarantee for the developer as part of the state's strategy to become a more attractive locale for the video game industry.
If 38 Studios is successful, that it will attractive around 450 jobs to Rhode Island by 2012. There is a down side, though, as 38 studios will have to pay a penalty, if it fails to deliver on its part of the bargain. The current governor of Rhode Island, Don Carcieri, has said that the deal was o risk worth taking to improve the lives of his fellow citizens.
“I’ve invested a significant amount of my life’s earnings in 38 Studios, and I will protect the loan guarantee that’s been given by the state with the same passion and interest that I’m protecting my own investment in this company,” said Schilling, according to Gamasutra. “Our paths are very much aligned.”
The massively multiplayer online role playing game is quite a high risk market to go in, as World of Warcraft's immense success has spawned many failures for its competitors. 38 Studios is aiming to deliver a fantasy MMORPG, playing exactly in the same field as Blizzard's juggernaut. To achieve at least some brand awareness, 38 Studios is currently working on a single player open world role playing game entitled Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning that is meant to establish the lore of its future MMO. Schilling is pulling no punches, as he has managed to bring in on the project big names like fantasy writer R.A. Salvatore, Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and ex-Bethesda lead designer Ken Rolston. The title will be released in the fall of 2011 for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC.