THQ Thirded, Halved And Quartered In Asset Auction

After the shock recent announcement that seemed to surprise no one, THQ recently announced their bankrupcy and sold off the majority of their assets in an auction, with only Virgil Studios and the Darksiders property appearing to be without new owners, in what is doubtless one of the biggest shake-ups in the industry that we’re likely to see in a while.

Relic Entertainment – makers of the Company of Heroes franchise – were reportedly sold to Sega for $26.6 million, only $300k more than Zenimax Media, while Volition, Saints Row and the Metro series were snatched up by Koch Media for around $28 million.

South Park: the Stick of Truth will find itself a home at Ubisoft, unless South Park Studios are able to successfully block the sale and reclaim the license, with the title now potentially moving its release window from its estimated Q2 release to sometime later in the year. Ubisoft have also become the owners of THQ Montreal, who were making two titles under development known as 1666 and Underdog, paying nearly $6 million for all three licenses.

The oft-maligned Homefront will become property of Crytek – who were reportedly developing the sequel for THQ – after they successfully bid on the series for just over half a million dollars. Meanwhile, Take Two bid around $10 million for the rights to the next game from Turtle Rock Studios, a name familiar to Valve veterans thanks to their key role in both Left 4 Dead titles. The rights to the WWE wrestling series may also find their home at Take Two, with reports claiming that 2K Games will take to the ring pending a final approval.

Oddly, none of the companies even made a bid for either the Darksiders license or the developers behind it – Virgil Studios – sadly forcing the developers to close their doors. The rights to the series still languish in the ether, though rumours suggest that Platinum Games may try to acquire them on the cheap, so there may yet be hope for the series.  Sad times indeed.

• EA Announce The Sims 4: City Living Expansion
• PETA Crosses The Line with Farming Simulator 17
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Review
• Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments - Review
• ONE Ring