UPDATE: We have received a response from 38 Studios clarifying that the fourth quarter of 2010 has never been an official release date for Copernicus. In fact, 2010 is the year in which fans will begin to hear details about the intellectual property. You can read 38 Studios' full response after the jump.

According to a recent Boston Globe article, retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is still looking for investors to back 38 Studios and its upcoming MMO, which is code-named Copernicus. Even though a tentative December 2010 release date has been targeted, the company estimates that $50 million to more than $100 million must be raised to complete the game.

No investors have joined with 38 Studios yet, and the company's funding is supplied mainly from Schilling himself. He told the Globe he has invested "far north" of $5 million with some help from video game entrepreneur Doug Macrae, who started General Computer in 1981.

Despite the lack of backers, 38 Studios acquired Big Huge Games in May, doubling its number of employees to 140. According to the Globe article, "game industry executives who have run similar size companies estimate 38 Studios' annual operating expenses at $15 million to $20 million."

Here is 38 Studios' response to the December 2010 release date mentioned in the Boston Globe article:

38 Studios has reached several significant milestones in the development of its upcoming MMOG, codenamed Copernicus. While there are rumors that the game will be released in Q4 2010, this is not, nor has ever been, an official release date. When the company first formed, tentative dates were discussed; however, 38 Studios will release Copernicus when the project is complete to our standards and satisfaction.  Fans can look forward to 2010 when the company will begin discussing details on the intellectual property.