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38 Studios appears to be getting no new help

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Miscellaneous

The bad news continues to accumulate for Rhode Island developer 38 Studios. According to Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, the company has received a grand total of no outside investment. It also has not received any of the tax credits that it requested, leaving the studio still deep in the hole. Chafee has stated that he is doing everything in his power to prevent the studio's closure.

Staff members are also leaving the company at an alarming rate, with CEO Jen MacLean and senior VP of product development John Blakely both confirming their departures from the company. The hiring of both individuals was trumpeted as a mark of success as recently as March of this year, and Blakely was still employed by 38 Studios as recently as Monday evening. There's even talk of the company's health insurance running out. None of this news suggests that Curt Schilling's company will make a quick turnaround -- if indeed it makes a turnaround at all.

38 Studios appears to be getting no new help originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Layoffs confirmed for 38 Studios, Rhode Island takes no action

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Miscellaneous

If last week's Project Copernicus flythrough had been a hopeful note, the latest news out of 38 Studios is another downturn. Following a meeting today, the Rhode Island EDC board decided to take no action to help the ailing company at this time. Governor Lincoln Chafee said following the meeting that the financial situation of the studio remains unchanged from last week, but did note that the company has seen some layoffs and underwent unspecified internal shifts.

Founder Curt Schilling did not directly respond to press inquiries, stating that he would answer questions when he is able to do so. He did, however, state that he was not taking further taxpayer money. Whether or not there will be a company there to take any money in the near future is still very much in doubt, however, and while Chafee has been a bit more diplomatic about aiding the studio, he has stressed that any assistance would be far on the conservative side.

Layoffs confirmed for 38 Studios, Rhode Island takes no action originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 May 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No relief in sight for 38 Studios after emergency meeting [Updated]

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Legal, Miscellaneous

Generally, when your company defaults on a major loan, you might expect an emergency meeting about the loan and the company's future would produce some results. But apparently today's meeting between 38 Studios owner Curt Schilling and Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee resulted in... absolutely nothing. Specifically, Rhode Island's Economic Development Corporation will take no immediate action to prevent the studio from going under, with Chafee on record as asking, "How do we avoid throwing good money after bad?"

It's a loaded question if you consider that the failure of 38 Studios would put the state's taxpayers on the hook for more than $112 million. Schilling has declined to elaborate on the company's state in interviews, and he has not made public how much more funding the company is seeking. It's bad news for the studio, bad news for the state, and bad news for any fans still looking forward to the possibility of Project Copernicus in the future.

[Update: Joystiq reports that "it appears 38 Studios put up all present and future IP by the company as collateral," meaning that if the studio defaults, the state of Rhode Island will own all of its game assets. We've tucked some of the ensuing news coverage in the video behind the break.]

Continue reading No relief in sight for 38 Studios after emergency meeting [Updated]

No relief in sight for 38 Studios after emergency meeting [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 May 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If 38 Studios goes under, Rhode Island taxpayers will be footing the bill [Updated]

Matt Daniel — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous

Project Copernicus and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developer 38 Studios is in some hot water, but it looks like that may be the least of your worries if you're a Rhode Island resident. Rhode Island's WPRI reports that if the studio founders and can't pay back the bonds given to it by the state, then the onus of doing so will fall upon Rhode Island taxpayers.

How much moolah are we talking about? Something to the tune of $112.6 million US. According to Joystiq, "If 38 Studios can't pay, the governor is required to ask the General Assembly to repay bondholders," which means that Rhode Island taxpayers will be responsible for footing the bill by 2020. For now, though, both the studio and the Rhode Island government are tight-lipped on the studio's future, and by association, the future of Project Copernicus, so we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.

[Update: Our sister site Joystiq reports that 38 Studios "missed its latest loan payment of $1.125 million to the state of Rhode Island on May 1, effectively defaulting [on] its $75 million loan." Rhode Island's Economic Development Corporation will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow morning to discuss the situation.]

If 38 Studios goes under, Rhode Island taxpayers will be footing the bill [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Black Prophecy developer Reakktor Media on its last legs

Matt Daniel — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous

The future is looking a bit hazy for Black Prophecy developer Reakktor Media, as reports indicate that the studio "has begun the insolvency process" and is scrambling for work in order to keep itself afloat. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Reakktor Media's managing director Kirk Lenke stated that "[the studio is] in a position to accomplish basically anything [that] is played right now, even if we were focused in the recent times on multiplayer mobile gaming," which may indicate an interest in developing games outside of the MMO genre.

Lenke also notes that the studio currently has a Diablo-esque sci-fi title in the early development stages. At any rate, we wish the best of luck to the folks at Reakktor Media. Even if things are looking pretty grim, here's to hoping that there's a silver lining in store for the studio.

Black Prophecy developer Reakktor Media on its last legs originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA reveals SWTOR subscription and sales numbers, beats financial predictions [Updated]

Matt Daniel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

It looks like Star Wars: The Old Republic didn't let its daddy down, as EA has reported much better sales than expected for the December quarter, largely thanks to the runaway sales of the new MMO title (as well as many of EA's other heavy-hitters). The company ended up earning an adjusted $344 million for a total net loss of $205 million, which isn't too shabby if you consider how much money just went into the development and launch of The Old Republic.

Perhaps most interestingly to players, however, is the fact that EA has reported sales of more than 2 million units of The Old Republic with about 1.7 million subscribers. Those are the highest (and the hardest) numbers we've heard so far. EA's Chief Financial Advisor, Eric Brown, stated in an interview that EA managed to pull in more SWTOR subscribers than the studio had initially anticipated. He added that at launch, the studio was able to add a great number of users per server courtesy of some technical improvements. If you're economically minded and want to get the full, dirty, stock market details, just click past the link below.

[Thanks to Gabriel for the tip!]

[Update: Darth Hater has compiled some additional TOR-related statistics and Q&A from today's EA earnings call: "2,000,000+ copies sold, 40% sold through Origin; 1,700,000+ active subscribers, 1 million concurrent." The company also notes that "Active subscribers means anyone paying OR in their trial period. MOST of those 1.7m are paying at this point."]

EA reveals SWTOR subscription and sales numbers, beats financial predictions [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Electronic Arts stock drops because of SWTOR fumbles

Matt Daniel — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

Electronic Arts' stock appears to be in a bit of trouble following Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch. The company's shares fell by almost 3% to $17.75 US this morning after a stock analyst working with Brean Murray Carret & Co. "cut his price target on the stock to $22 [US] from $28 [US]." In a note to his clients, analyst Todd Mitchell wrote that he felt some "creeping concerns" regarding The Old Republic's performance so far; he added that "initial sales appear to be below expectations, and casual observation of early play is causing us to rethink our churn assumptions." Now we just get to sit back with some popcorn and see whether BioWare can get its business together in time to make a recovery, so take a seat.

[Thanks to Chum for the tip!]

Electronic Arts stock drops because of SWTOR fumbles originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT revenues reached $100 million in 2011, Trion secures new funding

Jef Reahard — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items, RIFT

How successful is RIFT? That's hard to say without knowing how much it cost, but it's safe to assume that Trion executives are smiling after the game generated $100 million in revenue in only 10 months.

CEO Lars Buttler told Reuters that the company is still considering an initial public stock offering, and it has also secured an additional $85 million in funding as it readies RIFT for the South Korean and Chinese gaming markets later this year. Trion is also developing an MMO shooter called Defiance and an MMORTS known as End of Nations.

RIFT revenues reached $100 million in 2011, Trion secures new funding originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter

Matt Daniel — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous

A recent SEC filing from Zynga, creator of the social gaming epidemic known as FarmVille, revealed that the company is reporting a record quarterly revenue of over 306 million USD, though -- bizarrely enough -- profits are almost 54 percent lower than they were this time last year.

Revenue isn't the only thing that's on the rise, either. The company reports 152 million unique monthly players, compared to the 151 million the company reported in June. The average number of daily players, however, dropped from 59 million to 54 million. At any rate, the company seems to be going strong, with new titles such as the recently announced (supposed MMO) CastleVille just on the horizon.

Zynga reports record revenue in last quarter originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ChangYou reports impressive profit and revenue gains

Jef Reahard — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Browser

It's been a great year for ChangYou, and the Chinese developer responsible for Tian Long Ba Bu and Duke of Mount Deer recently reported its fifth consecutive double digit growth quarter.

Tian Long Ba Bu has seen two successful expansion packs thus far in 2011, with a third scheduled for September. According to Gamasutra, Duke of Mount Deer recently increased its server headcount to 110 (up from 64), and the success of both titles powered ChangYou's $54.2 million profit as well as a 35.1 percent revenue jump over the previous year.

ChangYou also bought into a browser-game specialist called 7Road last spring with the intention of expanding its interests beyond traditional MMORPGs. All told, Gamasutra says that ChangYou contributed an impressive $327 million in revenue to a $5 billion Chinese game market.

ChangYou reports impressive profit and revenue gains originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallout Online's future in jeopardy as Interplay's finances suffer

Matt Daniel — Mon, 30 May 2011 22:30:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, MMO industry, News items, Post-Apocalyptic, Fallout Online

There's a bad moon a risin' for all you MMO-playing Vault-dwellers out there. Fallout Online, the in-development MMO from Interplay, has been through some rough waters already, but it looks like the situation may be about to go from bad to -- pardon the pun -- apocalyptic.

A recent SEC filing by Interplay indicates that the company is going through some rough financial times, which doesn't bode well for the Fallout Online's future. According to the article at GamePolitics, Interplay is skating on thin ice with "a cash balance below $3000 and a working capital deficit of $3 million." The company also states that if the financial situation doesn't change sooner, rather than later, it could be forced to declare bankruptcy or even sell the studio entirely. We here at Massively wish Interplay the best in hopes that someday we'll all be able to step out of the Vaults and into Fallout's uniquely retro post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Fallout Online's future in jeopardy as Interplay's finances suffer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 May 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square-Enix bracing for big financial losses

Jef Reahard — Thu, 12 May 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Final Fantasy XIV

By all accounts, Square-Enix has had a rough year. Lukewarm reception of its Final Fantasy XIV MMORPG last fall, followed by the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami this spring, have conspired to paint a bleak portrait of the gaming giant's immediate financial future. Gamespot reports that Square-Enix has warned investors to brace for a $148 million loss for the year-long period that ended on March 31st, and the figures indicate an alarming reversal of fortune when measured against the previous year's $117.44 million profit.

The data come on the heels of a down-beat full-year financial outlook issued last February and also stem from what the company calls "tightened selection regarding title lineup." Translation: SE has trimmed some fat from the development budget, notably an FPS named Gun Loco that was originally planned for the Xbox 360. You can read the full report at Gamespot.

Square-Enix bracing for big financial losses originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 May 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Realtime Worlds lays off staff, puts APB up for sale [Updated]

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, All Points Bulletin, Rumors

One of the most recent MMOs to hit the market is already in deep trouble, according to multiple reports popping up over the internet. According to unconfirmed rumors, Realtime Worlds has fired the entirety of its MyWorld team, made drastic cuts and layoffs elsewhere, and might be putting APB up for sale. Announced last month, MyWorld was to be a social gaming experience scheduled for a 2011 launch.

If these rumors are true, then Realtime Worlds is mired in financial trouble and is scrambling to keep from going under. A VG247 source reported, "As of 11:30 GMT Realtime Worlds have put a large proportion on their workforce on gardening leave ranging from 4-8 weeks. APB's staff will be reduced to admin and a skeleton staff of devs and artists to keep it running and do general updates, but this looks like the end of RTW."

A developer on the APB European forums briefly addressed the situation by saying, "As we''ve announced we had to restructure the company to make it so that we can focus totally on APB. APB is still going strong and we fully intend to support 100%."

We do know that Realtime Worlds fired several employees last month in an effort to restructure the company. Massively has contacted Realtime Worlds for comment, and we will update you as soon as we hear anything.

[Update: Realtime Worlds has issued a statement confirming that some MyWorld employees, though not all, have been made "redundant," but that APB itself remains intact. "APB continues to be our primary development focus, and we remain fully committed to the game and its players." According to 1UP, Colin Macdonald emphasized that Realtime Worlds has "got the whole team working on making APB as good as it can be. It's a shame things haven't turned out the way we had envisaged them, but then the beauty of online gaming is that we can address problems and keep on improving experiences. We're completely behind APB, it's got huge potential, and we'll continue to make new content for it." Stay tuned for more updates!]

Rumor: Realtime Worlds lays off staff, puts APB up for sale [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Update: 38 Studios sets facts straight on Copernicus

Seraphina Brennan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles

In a follow-up to our story posted yesterday, 38 Studios has contacted us with a response on the issue of the game's cost to be between 50 million and 100 million and their "tenative release date" as reported by the Boston Globe.

According to 38 Studios, the 50 to 100 million figure came from the Boston Globe and not 38 Studios, as finances were never disclosed to the newspaper. Production costs were never mentioned as well during the interview. What was noted in the interview was that MMOs can be quite expensive to build, sometimes costing tens of millions of dollars to put together. As said to us by the company, "38 Studios is a private company and does not, and has never, disclosed financials."

Furthermore, the company wishes to stress that the supposed "December 2010" release date is not a date they wish to acknowledge. The company will release the game codenamed Copernicus when it is ready, currently wishing to not set any dates for their upcoming game.

Follow after the break for the full release from 38 Studios regarding the release date of Copernicus.

Continue reading Update: 38 Studios sets facts straight on Copernicus

Update: 38 Studios sets facts straight on Copernicus originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors abound of a massive layoff at Mythic Entertainment

Michael Zenke — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, MMO industry, New titles, Warhammer Online

Joystiq is reporting today that Mythic Entertainment has been hit by another round of layoffs, this one much more substantial than the first. Using information corroborated by Massively.com sources, they're reporting that anywhere between 60 and 130 people have been let go from the company. Unlike the last round of layoffs, which primarily affected infrastructure positions, these have cut deeply into the design and development departments. Including, it is rumored, cutting into the ranks of the senior designers.

This comes less than a week after the announcement of the Call to Arms expansion to Warhammer Online. The ambitious live event expansion is to introduce two new character classes and an entirely new zone's worth of content to the title, which just launched last year. Both Massively and Joystiq have extended invitations for comment to EA and Mythic, and we hope to have more information on this news soon.

Update: Mark Jacobs, in a post to the Warhammer Herald, attempts to assuage possible player anxiety over today's layoffs. He describes the layoffs as a part of moving from the pre-launch to post-launch footing, alongside layoffs in line with EA's general cost-cutting measures.

Rumors abound of a massive layoff at Mythic Entertainment originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stargate Worlds studio faces cash flow issues

Samuel Axon — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items, Rumors

Get ready for some dubious corporate drama. We were contacted by a tipster claiming to be a Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment employee. He or she alleged, among other things, that CME/Firesky is in critical financial condition -- that it has accrued a large debt, that massive layoffs are planned, and that the future of Stargate Worlds might be in jeopardy. Knowing full well that potentially-scorned anonymous employees are rarely a wholly reliable source, we contacted the company and provided them an opportunity to comment.

We were told that the tip was full of inaccuracies and overstatements. The official comment was this: "Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment is a start up, and like many start ups, we face the typical cash flow issues that all pre-revenue companies face. CME continues to fund its operations in the same way it has done for three years and the viability of the Stargate Worlds project is not in question. We fully expect to complete and ship Stargate Worlds in 2009."

Continue reading Stargate Worlds studio faces cash flow issues

Stargate Worlds studio faces cash flow issues originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision-Blizzard reveals that it's sitting on a big pile of money

Samuel Axon — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items

This year, Activision and Blizzard merged under French media group Vivendi (Blizzard's parent company) to become the biggest, baddest game publisher in the known universe. To make sure investors know just how awesome that event was, Vivendi sent out a press release describing its generally excellent financial condition.

Earnings for Vivendi as a whole were reported to be up 10.2% for the first six months of this year. While game division earnings are still actually down compared to this time last year, that should be no cause for alarm. It can be attributed to the lack of a World of Warcraft expansion. By this time last year, The Burning Crusade had reached store shelves.

Vivendi assured investors that it still plans to release Wrath of the Lich King by the end of this year, so that bump is still coming. But will Wrath be as big as The Burning Crusade? By definition it can't be any bigger, because you have to have played the TBC content to reach the point where you can enjoy most of what Wrath has to offer, right? Apparently we'll see soon.

One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

Activision-Blizzard reveals that it's sitting on a big pile of money originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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500,000 have signed up for Age of Conan

Samuel Axon — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Funcom and Eidos spun Age of Conan's high level of anticipation in the community by announcing that more than half a million people have signed up for either the game's beta test or its fan club.

That's a fairly impressive number, although it doesn't necessarily predict sales. After all, beta testing is free; who knows how many people will actually drop $50 (or €40, or £30, or whatever other currency) for the box and then 15 bucks a month thereafter?

Hopes must be high at Funcom, though, given the financial pressure the game's development has put on the company. Next Generation reported that Funcom's Q4 2007 losses were over three times those of Q4 2006 ($3.1 million vs. $1 million respectively) due in part to the cost of AoC's development. Don't let that add to your fears about the development status, though; the company still has $52.4 million to spare.

500,000 have signed up for Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The MMO scorecard

Mike Schramm — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:13:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Business models, Economy, Launches, MMO industry

Ancient Gaming Noob has a scorecard up-- after all the hype about the next big MMO after World of Warcraft, he's listed out eight criteria an up-and-coming MMO needs to meet to really be as big as Blizzard's epic game is.

And I tend to agree with everything. A great MMO needs to be both a brand of its own and a strong IP, and that right there is enough to get rid of most of the contenders. Tabula Rasa is a good idea, but what makes it unique to any of the other "sci fi legends" settings throughout the rest of history? System spec compatibility, quality and polish, and solo play are Blizzard standbys, and they had the genius and the knowhow to put them into an MMO. Not many game companies can do these three things effectively, although I'd put Bioware on that list (what they miss out in system specs they make up for in quality), and their upcoming MMO will be something to see for sure.

PvP and Sandbox play are two things that can turn a good game into a really great game, and again, there are only a few companies so far that can really get it right. Mythic is an old veteran of PvP, but the big question with Warhammer Online will be whether it can appeal to a casual audience in the way that WoW does-- remember, you have to meet all eight of these criteria to really have a chance at beating WoW. And finally, AGN lists financial stability as a must, and that's a no brainer-- it's why Gods and Heroes didn't make it.

It's a good list-- I'd say that if he's missing anything, it's that you need to make 100% sure your game is socially accessible. WoW does that with a strong guild system, an easy to navigate realm system, Horde and Alliance factions (you're more likely to make ties when you know an opponent is hunting for you), lots of emotes and waves, and pop culture references that even new players can "get" and see as familiar. Even a terrific game won't reach WoW heights if nongamers log in and don't understand what they see.

The MMO scorecard originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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