While Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning developer 38 Studios might be struggling financially they aren't willing to roll over and die just yet. In fact, the developer wants to, at least, give off the impression they are functioning business as usual and have another interesting project in the development pipeline.

That project, for those that might not know, is an MMO currently operating under the codename Project Copernicus. We've already seen a trailer for the game, that showcased a world just as large and diverse as the one in Kingdoms of Amalur (it's still unclear how the two projects will be connected just yet )but now some character screens have been released that show off three of the game's playable races.

Over on the 38 Watch forums, someone by the name of Alyn Shir, who just so happens to be one of the main characters in Reckoning, posted these screens which show off three playable races: the Jottun, the Almain, and the Dverga. The Jottun were a race of hammer-wielding giants in Reckoning, but the other two races, to the best of my knowledge, are a completely new creation.

Along with the photos, a cryptic message saying "38 isn't dead yet" was posted on the forums, suggesting that someone from the game's development team is behind this "leak."

[gallery order="DESC" columns="2"]

A similar design style to Reckoning appears to have permeated the world of Project Copernicus, which as fans of Reckoning is a very good thing. Aside from some engaging combat and a compelling story, Reckoning featured a world as dense as Skyrim and as whimsical as Fable.

Unfortunately, it's unclear how much progress was made on Project Copernicus before 38 Studios started encountering financial trouble, and in what capacity they are allowed to work on the game now that they are. Things weren't looking too good for the MMO when it was revealed that 38 couldn't even meet payroll, but both the developer's head Curt Schilling and the Governor of Rhode Island (the state that 38 Studios owes a hefty some of money to) seem optimistic about the future.

The game looks really cool, and could be something really special if executed well. Our only hope is that this isn't the last we see of the game.

Do you think that we will ever see Project Copernicus? What would you like to see 38 Studios do to make this MMO stand out?

Source: 38 Watch (via NeoGAF)