38 Studios lay-offs confirmed

The financially troubled 38 Studios has issued a round of lay-offs, presumably a cost cutting measure in order to meet the developer's debts to the state of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee told Boston.com 38 Studios had made a number of job cuts, but would not give details.

The politician also confirmed that not every employee had been paid; earlier reports suggested the company had not been able to meet its payroll at all, in addition to cutting loose all contractors and temps.

The developer managed to make a loan repayment of $1.25 million last week, although its first cheque bounced.

As part of the financial wrangling over the last few weeks, Rhode Island's Economic Development Corporation claimed the Kingdoms of Amalur developer's next game, MMO Copernicus, will release in June next year, and a work in progress video was released.

Should the developer fold, Rhode Island will own its IP; Kingdoms of Amalur could be worth a pretty penny indeed, as it counts Ken Rolston, R.A. Salvatore and Todd MCFarlane among its creators.

Thanks, Massively.