The original Kingdoms of Amalur was an expansive voyage through well-known fantasy tropes, one that was received with relative acclaim, even if its overall storyline left something to be desired. A strange fact indeed, considering the game's story and lore were penned by none other than acclaimed fantasy author R. A. Salvatore, with input from Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston. Developer 38 Studios shut down the doors relatively close to the gamers' release on account of sales not being enough for the company to pay for a loan granted towards the games' development by the state of Rhode Island. And thus story could have been left written, with thoughts of a eventual sequels and even a franchise being put to rest.

Cue THQ Nordic (who have been on a roll when it comes to both IP and studio acquisitions in the last few years) and the story might have a different ending. In fact, it will, as the company has just confirmed a soon-to-be-released remaster of the original Kingdoms of Amalur. Cheekily named "Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning", the remaster makes way to a gaming platform (currently PC and PS4 confirmed) near you as soon as August 18th. THQ Nordic is claiming "improved visuals and refined gameplay." It initially offered a release date of Aug. 11, but it has now been adjusted to Aug. 18. The games' announcement was originally leaked via Microsoft's Store (with accompanying screenshots), and has since been confirmed by THQ Nordic via Twitter.

THQ Nordic today announced they had acquired the IP for Kingdoms of Amalur, the huge, ambitious RPG that launched back in 2012. Developed by 38 Studios and the adequately named Big Huge Games, Kingdoms of Amalur> Reckoning launched to a good public and critic reception (albeit slightly polarizing in the extreme), which wasn't really that unexpected - renowned fantasy writer R. A. Salvatore created the in-game story and lore, for one, and Todd McFarlane was responsible for the art department.

However, the game didn't go on to be the commercial success it needed to be (perhaps because of it threading genre conventions all too well, particularly in the side quest portion of the game), and 38 Studios eventually filed for bankruptcy. The world and lore of Kingdoms of Amalur was already quite substantial to begin with, and a sequel was in the works and in pre-production; and that's ostensibly all part of the new IP acquisition by THQ Nordic. There's something about the overall Kingdoms of Amalur aesthetic and gameplay that resonates with THQ Nordic's own Darksiders, so it seems to be a good fit for the company. Here's to something new actually flourishing from the ashes of this acquisition.