THQ Nordic acquires IP rights to Kingdoms of Amalur
38 Studios' abandoned MMO Project Copernicus also included in the deal
THQ Nordic has finalised a deal for the IP rights to Kingdoms of Amalur from its long-since closed creator 38 Studios.
The deal, which was announced today, covers the critically admired RPG Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning, which launched back in February 2012. However, THQ Nordic also advised that it includes "Amalur", a version of 38 Studios abandoned MMORPG Project Copernicus.
According to interviews following the very public collapse of 38 Studios in 2012, Project Copernicus was intended to be, "the first triple-A, hundred-million-dollar-plus, free-to-play, micro-transaction-based MMO."
Ultimately, 38 Studios folded within months of launching Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the only game it ever released. When the company's assets were auctioned in December 2013, there were no takers for either Reckoning or Project Copernicus.
The terms of THQ Nordic's deal were not disclosed, but it's unlikely to be the most valuable acquisition the rising publisher has made in 2018. That honour currently belongs to the €121 million it spent on Koch Media, and even its buyout of HandyGames is likely to be worth more than the price Kingdoms of Amalur could fetch now.
Regardless of the price, THQ Nordic now has control of an IP that held a great deal of promise, but was tarnished by the collapse of its creator.