It wasn't that long ago that Big Huge Games was on the edge of oblivion. THQ put the studio up for sale in 2009, placing its projects and the studio itself in jeopardy. As fate would have it, Curt Schilling's 38 Studios swept in to acquire the ailing developer. Its major project, once on the chopping block, eventually became Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which released earlier this month to largely favorable reviews.

So, how does a studio go from the brink of closure to critical success? How does Big Huge Games prevent another potential disaster, and where does it go from here? Big Huge Games general manager Sean Dunn told us.