That's right, a state now rightfully owns all of 38 Studios' properties, including Kingdoms of Amalur: Recknoing and its MMORPG sibling, "Project Copernicus." Rhode Island will later seize all of the studio's computer equipment to keep Amalur "as intact as posible" to sell it.
How did this happen? Well, Rhode Island issued $75 million in state bonds to 38 Studios to get them to relocate to Rhode Island from Massachusetts. The studio, in turn, offered its assets, including patents, software, property, and all rights to its IPs as collateral. When 38 Studios went bankrupt, Rhode Island stepped in to seize all of these assets so that a banruptcy trustee could not sell them. Now Rhode Island has a chance to sell off these assets in order to make up some of the money the state has pretty much taken from taxpayers.
At least Rhode Island is going to sell the IP instead of trying to develop it on its own. I shudder at the thought of a governmental body trying to create a sequel to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning or trying to finish Project Copernicus.
[Source]
