According to court filings made by Stokes’ lawyer, the governor actively blocked the studio’s attempts to either restructure its debt or raise capital in the months before its closure. Chafee refused to meet with the executives of 38 Studios, the documents accuse. The governor even prevented the issues from being discussed with the RIEDC’s board of directors.
This despite Chafee claiming in public that he ”made every attempt to save the company.”
This all was precipitated when 38 Studios relocated from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, enticed by a $75 million from the state in loan guarantees. Chafee’s alleged interference forced the studio into bankruptcy, which put Rhode Island $100M in debt, which in turn had the state filing a lawsuit against the studio for fraud, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, racketeering, conspiracy, and more, claiming that the defendants ”knew or should have known” the company couldn’t survive and that the studio heads lied about the company’s health when the deal was made.
As a result, Rhode Island claimed the company’s assets, including Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, would be auctioned off by the state.
Chafee has since announced he would not seek a second term in office. One of the reasons is the governor’s resounding unpopularity in the state. Studio 38 founder Curt Schilling stated Chafee had an “agenda” and called him a ‘‘dunce of epic proportions.’’
