Why Big Huge Games Failed: Acquisition Gone Wrong | Startup Autopsy
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Big Huge Games
The Rise of Nations studio survived one acquisition by THQ — only to be sold to 38 Studios, which collapsed two months after Kingdoms of Amalur shipped.
Evaluating only Big Huge Games’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Market collapse as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: Acquisition gone wrong.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Big Huge Games founded
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
THQ acquires Big Huge Games and redirects studio toward Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning development
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
THQ sells Big Huge Games to 38 Studios (Curt Schilling's company) amid THQ's financial crisis
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning launches to positive critical reviews
SHUTDOWN
38 Studios collapses after failing to secure Rhode Island state loan payments; Big Huge Games shuts down with ~80 employees laid off just 3 months after game launch
SHUTDOWN
Sudden Collapse: Big Huge Games ceases operations
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Big Huge Games made Rise of Nations (2003), a critically acclaimed RTS. THQ acquired them in 2008 and redirected the studio toward Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, an action RPG. In January 2012, THQ sold Big Huge Games to 38 Studios — Curt Schilling's company — which was also developing Kingdoms of Amalur. The game shipped February 2012 to positive reviews. In May 2012, 38 Studios collapsed when Rhode Island loan payments failed. Big Huge Games was shut down in the same week, with approximately 80 employees losing their jobs two months after their game launched.
Lesson
“Employees at studios under double-acquisition pressure should demand transparency about the acquirer's financial position. 38 Studios was publicly known to be struggling with its Rhode Island loan payments months before the collapse. Big Huge Games employees had almost no warning because disclosure requirements for non-public companies are minimal.”