THQ Files For Bankruptcy, Drama Ensues
Sitting through some time for this news because of the avalanche of data to collect, here’s some of the crucial things you need to know about what this means for THQ and a number of promising future titles.
THQ is auctioning off all four of its studios and assets for a minimum of $60 million and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Companies are allowed to make higher offers, but the grand total must equate to more than $60 million. All four of THQ’s owned studios including Volition (known for Saints Row), Vigil Games (known for Darksiders), THQ Phoenix, and THQ Wireless are up for grabs, and all games currently in development by any of these studios are available for purchase as well. However, notice that none of THQ’s foreign (read: non-USA) studios are for sale, including Relic Entertainment (known for Warhammer) and THQ Montreal.
THQ President Jason Rubin addressed the sale in a lengthy explanation at THQ’s website, where he says
“The most important thing to understand is that Chapter 11 does not mean the end of the THQ story or the end of the titles you love,” Rubin writes. “Quite the opposite is true, actually.”
As a result of the bankruptcy, much of the legal information regarding the sale have gone public, and Polygon has found four separate titles that THQ were developing. Not all of these are available for purchase as part of the deal, but these are all noted to be brand new IP.
- Crawler, the working title for the new game being developed by Darksiders’ creators, Vigil Games.
- Atlas, the working title for a new game from Relic Entertainment, scheduled to release in calendar year 2014.
- Evolve, a new game from Left 4 Dead creators Turtle Rock Studios.
- 1666, the game currently under development at THQ Montreal, led by former Assassin’s Creed creative director Patrice Désilets.
Only “Evolve” and “1666” have trademarked names, and the other are both working titles. None of these titles have been formally announced before or since the announcement of THQ’s bankruptcy. Jason Rubin has also tweeted that Metro: Last Light, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Company Of Heroes 2 are all still on schedule, though who may own those projects will be changing.
