I’ll give you 30 cents for the sign THQ. Oh, and a dime for every single copy of Quest 64 ever printed.
The past couple years haven’t been kind to video game publisher THQ, but not to worry we were told! The company was just about to turn a corner! Then THQ filed for bankruptcy. But we still weren’t supposed to worry — going bankrupt is a normal part of doing business in America! Everything was fine!
Well, seems like THQ is finally out of excuses and unfounded optimism. The company was dissolved today and its various studios and properties were auctioned off. Hit the jump for a list of who got what…
– Relic Entertainment, makers of Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40k games has been sold to Sega for 26 million.
– THQ Montreal, the huge, 500-employee-strong studio THQ founded in 2010 has been sold to Ubisoft for the low, low price of 2.5 million. Setting up this studio themselves (rather than buying an already existing studio) was a large factor in the death of THQ. The studio was working on a couple titles — 1666 and Underdog.
– Volition Inc., the makers of the Saints Row series has gone to Koch Media for 22 million.
The one major THQ studio that wasn’t bought was Vigil Games, the guys behind the Darksiders titles. It’s unclear what will happen to them, but there’s a good chance they may just be shuttered.
The following THQ properties were also sold…
– Evolve, a shooter from Turtle Rock Studios (the guys behind the original Left 4 Dead) was bought by Take Two for 10 million.
– The Metro series was sold for 5 million to Koch Media.
– The rights to South Park passed to Ubisoft for around 3 million.
– Finally, the Homefront series was sold to Crytek for a little over 500 thousand. Yes, THQ’s big attempt to challenge Call of Duty, the series they put it all on the line for, sold for less than half-a-million. That pretty much says it all.
So there you have it — a mid-sized, blue-collar developer decided it wanted to be Activision and Nintendo all at once and now they’re dead. THQ’s demise was pretty much all its own fault, but that said, it’s always a bit sad to watch an underdog try to compete with the big boys and fail miserably.
via Kotaku