When it was announced last year that THQ’s business was going south, it was a shock to most gamers. After all, its Steam meta scores are consistently high. It was an even bigger shock that within a month the company decided to, after filing for Chapter 11, to split its company into five pieces and auction them off. Unfortunately, as is always the case when companies are split up, this definitely puts all THQ employees’ jobs in a danger.
Though the sales are not official yet, as every buy must adhere to government approval as per the rules of filing for bankruptcy, the auction winners have been announced.
The smallest bid was a near half-million bid by Crytek for the Homefront franchise, a not so surprising choice for the business that deals only in first-person shooters.
The highest bid, at 26.6 million, was SEGA who made out with Relic, the maker of the Warhammer40K and Company of Heroes, adding some variety to the SEGA franchise.
After SEGA, Koch Media bought Volition for 22.3 million, and the Metro franchise for 5.9 million. Volition is known for the open-platformers Saints Row, and Red Faction, and also the creators of the unfortunate Summoner and Summoner 2. The purchase would add more variety to an already motley array of video games, which includes the Let’s Play series.
For 10.9 million dollars, Take-Two (Take2) acquired the Evolve franchise, which, after the success of series like Bioshock and and Grandtheft Auto, suggests that while no one has any idea what this game is going to be yet, it will probably be very good. The original developers of Evolve, as reported by Polygon, Turtle Rock missed the bid by over 9 million.
Canadian company, Ubisoft, acquired THQ Montreal, which will likely give them full creative control over Assassin’s Creed. They also picked up South Park: The Stick of Truth, though that is having legal disputes because in the original deal with THQ, South Park Studios must consent to the new owners should the rights to the game switch hands.
Vigil Games, the creators of Darksiders, has yet to receive any bids.
In a letter to its employees, THQ states, “We were hoping that the entire company would remain intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations.” The letter continues that, “for those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you take the next steps in your career.”
So where did some of your favorite titles end up? Let us know in the comment section below if this came to you as a surprise, or is this just another day in the Video Game Industry.
