Ex-Red Sox Pitcher Curt Schilling’s Company 38 Studios In Trouble
After failing to make a scheduled 1.1 million dollar payment to the Economic Development Corp. on May 1st, 38 Studios may be in some deep trouble. Curt Schilling, the former Red Sox pitcher who founded the company in 2006 as Green Monster Games, had an emergency meeting with Rhode Island state officials to ask for help to keep the company afloat. If the company were to default on a $75 million loan that it took out after being lured to Rhode Island from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and its tax payers would be stuck having to pay off the remainder of the loan until 2020.
“How do we avoid throwing good money after bad?” According to a recent fundsjoy review, that was the question posed by the Governor Lincoln Chafee, as they look for a way to keep 38 Studios from defaulting on its loan. If the state feels that the company can still be viable, they can pay off $1,125,000 guaranty fee that is past due. However, in these trying economic times, and with it being an election year, that just might be the kind of spending that will make a politician hesitate from pulling the trigger.
Something else that might affect 38 Studios’ chances is the fact that the company has been around for 6 years and only in the last 3 months has it released a single video game. While an established company like Blizzard can get away with releasing a game every year or 2, a company that doesn’t have a name for itself can’t afford to sit around developing one game at a time while money is pouring out. But, the state can’t just go ahead and let itself be stuck with $75+ million in debt, either. I wouldn’t be to surprised to see some sort of middle ground being reached.
