Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developers find a new home courtesy of Epic Games

Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning Troll Fight

There's a light at the end of the tunnel for a few of those left jobless by the closure of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developers Big Huge Games, thanks to Unreal Engine chiefs Epic Games.

"On Wednesday, the ex-BHG leadership team contacted us." Capps explains. "They wanted to start a new company and keep together some of the key talent displaced by the layoff, and hoped that they could use an Epic IP as a starting point for a new game. We loved that they all wanted to keep working together, but it was pretty clear they'd have trouble building a demo and securing funding before their personal savings ran out."

"In one of life's coincidences, Epic's directors had spent the morning discussing how we'd love to build even more successful projects with our growing team, but that we'd need a dramatic infusion of top talent to do so. Which, we all knew, was impossible."

"So now we're planning to start an impossible studio in Baltimore."

Capps also mentions that some displaced developers are moving on to Zynga East and Zenimax Online, which suggests that a number of ex-Copernicus developers could find their way onto The Elder Scrolls Online. Hopefully that means their MMO ambitions will be realised after all.

The new studio doesn't have a name yet, and there's a lot still to be arranged - but it's good news for those affected by the problems at Big Huge Games and 38 Studios.

The Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning developers hit financial difficulties last month when 38 Studios failed to make a loan repayment to the state of Rhode Island. Making one payment wasn't enough to keep the studio afloat, and company-wide layoffs were announced shortly afterwards.

Joining in 2011, Chris made his start with PC Gamer turning beautiful trees into magazines, first as a writer and later as deputy editor. Once PCG's reluctant MMO champion , his discovery of Dota 2 in 2012 led him to much darker, stranger places. In 2015, Chris became the editor of PC Gamer Pro, overseeing our online coverage of competitive gaming and esports. He left in 2017, and can be now found making games and recording the Crate & Crowbar podcast.