According to WPRI, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) is taking sides in a fight over the future direction of the state’s troubled Economic Development Corporation. The fight is between former campaign rival and Moderate Party Chairman Ken Block and House Speaker Gordon Fox, but the Governor has decided to go against the Speaker and side with Block.

In an extensive New York Times article on the demise of former Red Sox all-star pitcher Curt Schilling's 38 Studios, current Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee (I) shares his thoughts on what led to the studio defaulting on a $75 million loan from the state and the studio's eventual bankruptcy.

The Boston Herald is reporting that lawmakers in Rhode Island are saying that they should stop making payments related to 38 Studios loan. The state is currently suing founder Curt Schilling and executives from the company that defaulted on loans in the neighborhood of $100 million. The Rhode Island House Finance Committee is currently reviewing bills that would block the state or its Economic Development Corp. (EDC) from making payments.

Rhode Island Superior Court documents unearthed by The Providence Journal claim that the management at the now-defunct 38 Studios knew they didn't have enough money to finish projects before moving to the Ocean State. At least that is what the state is alleging in its case against the company who took a loan for millions of dollars and then defaulted on the loan.

The Associated Press is reporting that 38 Studios founder and former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has asked a Rhode Island superior court judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher and 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling will sell the famous bloody sock that he wore during the 2004 World Series. The sock is expected to net at least $100,000. The Associated Press is reporting that an online auction for the piece of rare sports memorabilia will open on February 4, with an in-person auction to be held on February 23.

You can't get blood from a stone, but the state of Rhode Island is going to try anyway. The state announced today that it has filed a lawsuit against Curt Schilling and various executives at the now bankrupt 38 Studios in an attempt to recoup the $75 million loan guarantee given to the studio to set up shop in Providence and create an MMO.

The public auction held Tuesday at what used to be 38 Studios' headquarters in Providence, Rhode Island, raked in approximately $650,000, according to figures released by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation. Last week a similar auction was held at the site of 38 Studios' Big Huge Games division in Maryland. That auction brought in $180,000.

According to a Boston.com report, two auctions to sell of the tangible goods of the now bankrupt 38 Studios will allow online bidders to participate. Up for sale are the company's computers, office equipment, office furniture and more. Sorry, there are no game assets or intellectual property to bid on...

Former Red Sox pitcher and founder of the now bankrupt 38 Studios may be forced to sell memorabilia that is near and dear to his heart (and other assets) to help pay down some of the debt on the $75 million loan he took from the State of Rhode Island.

According to the Associated Press, there will be no federal criminal charges filed against Curt Schilling or his now bankrupt game development company 38 Studios. A spokesperson for U.S. attorney spokesperson Peter Neronha told The Associated Press that the office has conducted a "narrow and focused" examination of 38 Studios to find out if any federal laws had been broken, and has decided to not continue the investigation. The federal level investigation into 38 Studios began in June, shortly after it filed for bankruptcy.

The state of Rhode Island is auctioning off the remaining physical assets of 38 Studios including its computers, office furniture, audio equipment, consoles, televisions, conference call equipment, office telephones, security equipment and more. The assets are being sold off by auction site SJ Corio Company. The assets will be sold off in two different auctions: one to take place in Rhode Island on October 12 and another on October 23 in Maryland.

The ghost of 38 Studios' unpaid loans and bankruptcy still haunt the state of Rhode Island, according to comments made by current Governor Lincoln Chafee (I). The governor said that the 38 Studios failure "remains an economic development crisis" for the state.

The ghost of 38 Studios is haunting Rhode Island politicians who are trying to get reelected. Speaking to the Associated Press both incumbents trying to hold on to their respective public offices and challengers who want to take their places next year are saying that they are having to answer a lot of questions from voters about the $75 million loan guarantee given to Curt Schilling's 38 Studios by Rhode Island.

I wonder how the citizens of Rhode Island feel about free-to-play games... Ultimately their opinion is of paramount importance now that the state owns the rights to Curt Schilling's first MMO project, Copernicus. So what does free-to-play have to do with it? Well, apparently the plan for 38 Studios' first MMO was to launch it as a free-to-play game, according to Boston Magazine. At least that is what Schilling told the publication...

Epic Games has announced the official launch of Impossible Studios, a game development studio it claims is "comprised of highly skilled, senior-level game development talent." Based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Impossible joins the likes of its corporate headquarters in Cary, North Carolina; ChAIR Entertainment in Salt Lake City, Utah; People Can Fly in Warsaw, Poland; Epic Games Korea in Seoul, Korea; and Epic Games Japan in Yokohama, Japan.

The Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. and Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co. are now the proud (?) owners of the game assets of 38 Studios. While we doubt the state of Rhode Island will be releasing Kingdoms of Amular 2 or Copernicus anytime soon, we can expect that they will offer the assets for both of those franchises up for sale at some point in the not-too-distant future.

A nine-page article in Boston Magazine takes an in-depth look at why former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's company 38 Studios failed and offers the first glimpse inside that company's studio structure, the dysfunction of management, Schilling's opinion on the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO Copernicus, and details on a publishing deal that Schilling claims was almost finalized.

The Economic Development Corporation of Rhode Island finds itself highly dysfunctional in the wake of 38 Studios going bankrupt and not being able to meet its obligations related to $75 million loan. The pseudo government-corporate entity has been without an executive director since May when Keith Stokes decided to resign over the loan to 38 Studios. Today we have learned from several published reports that another loan the EDC approved is not going to be paid back and that another executive has resigned.

The Providence Journal has several stories related to the ongoing saga of 38 Studios. The first story details the testimony of Richard Wester, chief financial officer for 38 Studios in bankruptcy court this week in Delaware.

Speaking to sports radio station WEEI, former Red Sox pitcher and founder of the now bankrupt 38 Studios Curt Schilling said that he is "tapped out" after his company filed for bankruptcy. Schilling said that he lost $50 million of his own money and is personally responsible for paying back a $2.4 million loan from Citizens Bank parent RBS Citizens.

Rhode Island state and Federal officials have begun to dig into the affairs of Curt Schilling's 38 Studios, who filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. According to Gamasutra, information related to the loans given by the state to 38 Studios is about to be picked apart. Earlier this month the Rhode Island State Police, the Rhode Island Attorney General's office, the FBI, and the U.S.

Gamasutra has published an open letter from the spouse of a former 38 Studios developer in an article called '38 Studios Spouse' speaks out. In her letter the wife of the former 38 Studios employee details her and her family's struggles during and after the period of time when the studio could no longer pay its employees or cover the cost of their health insurance.

The Providence Journal is reporting that 38 Studios has filed for bankruptcy today and that a series of investigations into the company by state and federal agencies are incoming.

Epic Games is putting together a brand new studio in Baltimore comprised completely of former Big Huge Games employees. The team was part of 38 Studios before its financial troubles put the entire company in limbo.

While Epic Games President Mike Capps says that "there's a million things to work out," the plan is to have these employees work as contractors. All of this work will be remotely because these employees will remain in Baltimore.

A number of stories have popped up over the holiday weekend relating to 38 Studios and its continuing struggle to stay alive. Among them is news that an update to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will not see the light of day, that a sequel to the game was already in pre-production and fresh comments from several high profile 38 Studios executives taking Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) to task for throwing the company under the bus in the name of what they see as demagoguery.

According to this Joystiq report 38 Studios has laid off its entire staff across both its Providence, Rhode Island studio and its Bug Huge Games studio in Baltimore, Maryland. An internal memo obtained by news station WPRI reveals the details of the layoff and how employees received the news. The memo reads:

Five Rhode Island lawmakers have issued a public rebuke of a letter from Rhode Island Statewide Coalition chairperson Harriet Lloyd. Lloyd's letter said that lawmakers who expressed dismay over the current trouble concerning the state and Curt Schilling's 38 Studios were being disingenuous and that their support for the Job Creation Guaranty Program gave the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation carte blanche to spend the $75 million given to the untested game company.

38 Studios has lost its CEO Jen MacLean and senior vice president of product development John Blakely, whose exits from the company have been uncovered in their LinkedIn profiles. MacLean updated her LinkedIn profile to show she had left the company back in March, though she had been out for two months on maternity leave at the time.

Blakely's profile was also recently updated to show that he left the company sometime this month and now lists his time at the studio in the past tense.

If 38 Studios is forced to sell the IP related to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and the MMO Project Copernicus (set in the same universe), one wonders how much both properties would be worth. Joystiq decided to ask Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter for a valuation and he came to the conclusion that 38 Studios' IP is worth about $20 million.