I always hate writing these posts.

I hate stories like these. Big Huge Games, the developer of the Rise of Nations series and, later, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, was absorbed some time ago into THQ's 38 Studios, whom was working on the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO. And now, because 38 Studios has had financial issues with the state of Rhode Island, they as well as all of 38 have been fired. The notice came in a cold, callous letter to all employees, a full month after they stopped getting paid and days after they lost health insurance, both without warning. What's worse, an employee only found out they had no health insurance after his pregnant wife went to the doctor's. While the actions taken by the studio and Schilling are condemnable, it's an unfortunate thing to have seen the studio get in over its head, and for so many to suffer for it. 

But, there's a bright side to this story. Game journalists, game studios, and developers all hit the Twitter scene, promoting work for the unfortunate employees under the hashtag "#38jobs." Alex Rubens, freelance journalist for various game sites, assembled a Google Doc full of open positions in the game industry. Even though this is a sad day, it brings a bit of inspiration with it, knowing that sometimes the internet is full of wonderful people.