The game company founded by baseball pro Curt Schilling, 38 Studios, was doing very well for itself. Its first game had broken the million-sold mark, and they were ramping up to work on a new project, the mysterious Copernicus. Then one day, payroll bounced and it all went downhill from there. So how did a company with a rich backer, loans from the state of Rhode Island, and a million-selling game explode overnight? The answer is simple, bad management. Check out this article that covers the whole story of what went on behind the doors of 38 Studios. There’s a lesson here, folks. Boston Magazine has the story.
It’s great that Curt Schilling was a real gamer willing to put his money behind his dreams. That’s wonderful. Sadly, dreams alone aren’t enough. The business side is where a lot of companies fall down, but in and outside the gaming world. It takes some real skill, and real effort, to properly manage a project like a large video game. Too bad 38 Studios couldn’t get their act together.