Kingdoms of Amalur auction delayed into December

Kingdoms of Amalur is still in limbo, with the remaining and most expensive of the shuttered 38 Studios' assets to be auctioned next month.

An auction of 38 Studios' remaining assets was scheduled for November 13 and 14, but Nick Jimenez of auction host Heritage Global Partners told Gamespot it had been delayed to December, pending court approval.

A specific date has not been set.

Rhode Island moved to delay the auction after it noted more interest in the property than it had expected; the extra time may allow more interested to organise bids, resulting in a higher end price.

The auction's contents include rights to the Kingdoms of Amalur property, which was conceptualised by RA Salvatore, Ken Rolston and Todd McFarlane; the near-complete MMO Project Copernicus; properties acquired by 38 Studios when it engulfed Big Huge Games, including Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends and Catan; the Big Huge Games Engine; and 38 Studios' Helios development and management platform.

Although no publishers have admitted to interest in bidding on the Amalur IP, Reckoning publisher EA is a good bet, as it's mentioned an interest in a sequel, and it's believed that Take Two was keen.

Other 38 Studios assets, such as office fit-out, brought in better than expected funds.

38 Studios went bust while heavily in debt to the state of Rhode Island. The state has since drawn income from ongoing sales of Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning, and has elected to honour the collapsed company's bonds. Rhode Island is suing key figures behind 38 Studios for mismanagement, among other allegations, and depositions began in late October.