Speaking to GamesIndustry, Former THQ president Danny Bilson, who was ousted before the publisher’s collapse, has said the company had financial issues the whole time he was there. The one-time executive said this was due in part to an ongoing tendency to rely on licenses, which had served THQ so well from 1991 to 2007, and weren’t shucked fast enough.

“We were shutting studios the whole time, and I was the guy going out there and giving the bad news,” he said. “It’s like the worst thing that… it’s the worst. I’ll stop right there. Awful.

“When I left a year ago, we didn’t see what eventually happened on the horizon. I’m not kidding, okay: we knew we were in trouble, but we knew we had a good line-up, and I thought we had enough money put away to support that stuff, finish it, and market it properly. We had a plan to live another day.

“And this is honest, honest, honest: I do not know what happened after I left. No idea. I’m not privy to what went on in there and I didn’t try to find out. I needed to move forward. I really wasn’t engaged at all, and then the news came in December.

“This was happening to my friends. I felt terrible. I just felt terrible.”

Bilson has never made any comment on his exit from THQ ahead of the appointment of former Naughty Dog lead Jason Rubin as president, and said he has to count on influential figures in the industry and press knowing the truth.

“Do I take responsibility for being involved in the decline of a company? Absolutely. Will I tell you candidly that it was the hardest job I’ve every had in my life? Well, it was. But I gave it my best, and I didn’t see the end result coming at all,” he said.

“On my watch, we, meaning my team, took [THQ] from one place and got it to another. We made a lot of improvements, but obviously it wasn’t enough; it wasn’t fast enough and it wasn’t good enough. I take responsibility for that. I’m proud of the portfolio my team built under duress. My team helped to raise the quality bar at a company that was built on something else entirely.”

Source: GamesIndustry

THQ is bankrupt and all its assets have been auctioned off – end of story, right? Wrong. A huge list of creditors have made claims on the defunct publisher, according to a Bankruptcy Court of delaware filing [PDF], with a whopping total of $200 million allegedly owed.

Microsoft is claiming $213,772 in licensing fees for third-party peripherals and $888,652 for financing fees. UFC parent company Zuffa, LLC is asking for $1.9 million in unpaid royalty fees. Codemasters has filed a claim for $1 million in unpaid royalties and stock on various titles including Dirt 3 and Bodycount. LucasFilm is after royalties on mobile games. Even indie darling Double Fine Productions says it is out of pocket $595,000 in royalties.

On top of that, a tattoo artist is claiming $4.16 million for a copyright infringement suit; former executives Jason Rubin and Jason Kay say they’re both out about $2 million each; and various THQ child companies are claiming millions in loans and interest; and the ESA wants its money back for a reserved E3 2013 booth.

Polygon reports the claims may not be paid, but if they are, it won’t be until the end of May.

Source: GamePolitics

Polygon has dug up court documents pertaining to the final auction of properties beloning to shuttered publisher THQ.

Final bids were due on April 15, and the offers will be presented in court and potentially finalised sometime in May. Although the documents don’t reveal who bid on what, and for how much, they did note that “certain of the IP” attracted 17 bids, and the sales could bring in up to $7 million if approved.

Bids have been accepted since February. The six lots on offer were the Darksiders series; the Red Faction series; the Homeworld series; the MX series; Other Owned Software, including Destroy All Humans!, Summoner, and more; and Other Licensed Software, including Marvel Super Hero, Supreme Commander, Worms, and more.

We know for sure where one of these lots did not end up; teamPixel was unable to remain competitive in its attempts to save Homeworld.

Source: Polygon

THQ is apparently expect “a vigorous sale” when it comes to picking up the last few remaining titles and franchises still in the hands on the now-defunct publisher. Darksiders, Red Faction and Homeworld are just some of the IPs up for grabs in an upcoming auction due to start April 15.

Six distinct packages are to be offered: a Red Faction package with rights to all the games therein, a Darksiders package, a Homeworld package, an MX package, an ‘Internal Titles’ package (de Blog, Destroy All Humans! and so on) and a ‘Licensed Titles’ package (which, as you may expect, contains licensed titles such as Costume Quest, Let’s Ride and Jeopardy).

More than 100 expressions of interest have apparently already been received.

Last month, THQ sold off all its major studios, including delivering Relic to SEGA, Volition to Koch Media Group, and THQ Montreal to Ubisoft.

Source: VG247

SEGA’s acquisition of Relic from the burning wreckage of the THQ fire sale was one hell of a smart move. If you’d told me fifteen years ago that SEGA would have not only stopped making consoles, but gone on to become one of the juggernauts of the RTS market, I would have probably laughed at you. Laughed at you, and then ran like hell as you chased me through the corridors of my high school and demanded my lunch money.

Instead, fifteen years and $56 million later, SEGA now makes zero consoles but owns both The Creative Assembly and Relic — two companies who together make up some of the biggest names in the RTS genre, and a genre practically exclusive to PC.

So what does it all mean? Let’s take a look.

Wait — Company of Heroes is safe, right?

Yes. SEGA picked up several IPs as a result of their Relic acquisition, and one of them was Company of Heroes. In further follow-up, a SEGA spokesperson claimed to Eurogamer that “Sega acquired all shares of THQ Canada and THQ’s IPs related to the titles developed by THQ Canada.”

“Those IPs include Company of Heroes, which is developed by THQ Canada, and its R&D engines.”

Chances are good that not only will Company of Heroes 2 make it to market unscathed — good news for you, and good news for the no-doubt nervous team at Relic — but that future Company of Heroes games are assured.

What about Relic’s other titles?

Critically, SEGA’s press release and even their further follow-ups fail to mention what other intellectual properties were acquired from THQ. Out of Relic’s other properties, Homeworld is still owned by THQ and is the subject of a crowdfunding movement to buy the IP for re-release, while The Outfit hasn’t been seen or heard from since its generally favourable 2006 console-only release.

Impossible Creatures is the only other Relic title of note, and that last showed up in 2002 — and was published by Microsoft anyway, rather than THQ. So the only other IP (that we’ve been told about) worth noting, is, of course…

The Games Workshop connection

With the recent news that The Creative Assembly had purchased the rights to Games Workshop’s Warhammer Fantasy Battles license, this acquisition becomes all the more interesting. SEGA now holds both the WFB license and Games Workshop’s preferred Warhammer 40,000 developer.

Relic’s experience and track record with the Warhammer 40,000 license is streets ahead of what any developer has managed to do with any other Games Workshop license, hands down. You can bet that the Nottingham-based wargaming company isn’t turning a blind eye to what’s going on.

So what happens now? Well the unfortunate reality is that the current Warhammer 40,000 licensing agreement is with THQ, not with Relic. This means that not only would the agreement with THQ have to be officially terminated — which probably won’t happen until these Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings are complete — but then another one re-negotiated with SEGA.

There’s no guarantee that this will happen, of course. There is a slim chance that some third party might jump in and try to seduce Games Workshop with a more tempting offer — but Games Workshop have shown that they’re now extremely reluctant to give their licenses to just anyone, especially after Relic essentially single-handedly saved them from a string of utterly tragic licensed game adaptations.

They want people to be talking about Warhammer 40,000, and they want it now — and the best way to do that will be to continue the relationship with Relic.

Does this mean Relic will make Dawn of War 3?

“It’s too early to tell,” is unfortunately the best answer we can give. As we saw with Homeworld, THQ own all the IP developed by their companies, and that means that they’re the ones holding the keys to Dawn of War 3 — a game that was much talked about but never, ever, officially confirmed by THQ or Relic.

This is frustrating, as all the information we know so far about Dawn of War 3 indicates that Relic were planning to push the scale all the way into the Epic zone, and offer even more customisation than before. THQ revealed mid-2011 that the game was planning to feature global as well as low-level strategy, up to an including what were described as “MMO-like elements”.

SEGA’s next move

When a big company acquires two profitable developers who complement each nicely, two possible things happen. The first is that the big company goes to sleep on a pile of money, while its talented developers beaver away and do their own thing, not paying any attention to each other.

The second is that the big company sits the two developers down in a room together and says “I need a game out of each of you, every two years. I want alternating game releases, resulting in guaranteed big money for me each and every year. I want you to share resources as much as possible. Start now.”

EA does it with Danger Close and DICE. Activision does it with Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Ubisoft does it with their sixteen thousand Assassin’s Creed development studios across the world. It’s a good strategy, and strategy — if you’ll pardon the pun — is what this is all about.

It probably won’t happen this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if 2014 saw the announcement of a new, shared engine platform between the two companies, in much the same way EA has spread the Frostbite 2 engine around its various subsidiaries. It’s faster, reliable, and means development and support is all centralised and works towards a larger goal.

We’ll hear more about SEGA’s plans in the coming weeks and months as the company finalises the transition of the employees and nails down their plans for the upcoming Company of Heroes 2 launch. But whatever happens, one thing is certain: RTS players suddenly have a lot more to look forward to.

It’s business as usual for Homefront 2 following the IP’s purchase by Crytek.

“Nothing has changed with regards our development of the game, and we look forward to sharing the finished product with players,” Crytek games GM Nick Button-Brown said in a statement.

Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli said in a statement said Crytek has been a “firm believer” in the Homefront IP since it signed on to develop the sequel.

“Our cooperation with THQ was always positive and we would like to thank them for all their support over the last two years and express our sympathy to those affected by the recent events at the company,” he added.

The first, poorly-received Homefront was developed by Kaos Studios, which was later closed. New developer Crytek UK is the studio once known as Free Radical, which produced the Timesplitters series.

Source: CVG

If you follow industry gossip at all, you’ll know that Ubisoft’s acquisition of THQ Montreal is a little bit amusing, because the studio was founded when Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Desiléts jumped ship to THQ, taking so many former colleagues with him that Ubisoft sought an injunction against its rogue agent.

Desiléts is yet to speak out about the acquisition, but Ubisoft Canada boss Yannis Mallat seems pretty calm about it. “I’ve known Patrice for 13 years and I know him very well, he’s a great talent and I respect him as a creator. We’re very happy to look forward to working with him again,” Mallat told the Financial Post.

THQ Montreal employs around 170 staff and was working on two new IPs, codenamed 1666 and Underdog, which Ubisoft now owns. Ubisoft already has extensive offices in Montreal, where its flagship development studio boasts one of the highest headcounts in the world and has fingers in practically every triple-A Ubi pie.

Source: Financial Post via GamesRadar

SEGA have confirmed yesterday’s news that they have acquired Relic from THQ.

“SEGA Corporation acquired all of shares of THQ Canada Inc. and some IPs owned by THQ Inc., a parent company of THQ Canada on January 24, 2013 in order to further reinforce PC game development capabilities in the U.S. and European regions,” reads the statement.

“We are thrilled to have Relic Entertainment join the SEGA family,” the statement continues. “The acquisition is a strategic fit and a critical step in growing our business (…) They are a well-respected studio with a reputation for making creative and innovative games and we look forward to seeing what great things we can create together over the coming years.”

With both Creative Assembly and Relic now wholly owned by SEGA, the company has suddenly captured a huge portion of the PC RTS market and give itself a potentially important advantage over companies like Blizzard. It’ll be interesting to see if SEGA puts the two studios on a two-year turnaround schedule, with alternating Total War and Company of Heroes titles each year. We’ll see!

Source: Blue’s News

THQ’s President Jason Rubin has used a company-wide email to confirm the sale of multiple THQ-owned studios to other various publishers as the company continues its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Leading the pack is the sale of Relic to SEGA for a cool $26 million, followed by Koch Media Group who purchased the rights to the Metro series for $5.8 million, and Volition for $22.3 million. Meanwhile, Ubisoft have picked up the THQ Montreal Studio and the rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth around $5.7 million combined.

Crytek purchased the rights to Homefront for an almost insultingly low $500,000, and Take-Two Interactive paid $2 million for the rights to Turtle Rock’s new game Evolve, about which no details have been released. Turtle Rock themselves tried to buy the rights but could only offer $250,000, meaning that Take-Two literally outbid them on their own game. Whatever Evolve is, somebody clearly think it’s going to be a big deal.

Total proceeds from the auction came to around $100 million, but there are some losers in today’s news: namely that Vigil Studios and Darksiders failed to attract any bidders. THQ is hopeful that a sale will go through but warns that buyers may not be found.

Bethesda has lodged a backup bid for Relic if SEGA’s deal falls through financially, offering $26.3 million for the RTS developer.

You can read Jason Rubin’s company-wide letter below:

To All THQ Employees:

We now have the answers we’ve been seeking through our financial restructuring and Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction that occurred:

Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business, along with Clearlake’s offer, and numerous offers for separate assets. During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority of the company.

Shortly, we will present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must concur with our assessment.

The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :

• Sega agreed to purchase Relic
• Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
• Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
• Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve
• Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park

We expect these sales to close this week.

Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

What this means for employees

We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of your employment with THQ.

If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers.

We know you will have many questions about this news. We’ll be meeting tomorrow when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.

A personal note

The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative, artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have accomplished despite today’s outcome. 

It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership. 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.

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.

Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Brian Farrell

Chief Executive Officer

Jason Rubin

President

Source: GameInformer, VG247

Sad news for THQ this morning as news breaks that the company’s assets will be auctioned off on a “title by title” basis to interested parties come January 22.

Those interested parties are now known to include EA, which has completed on-site visits of major THQ operations. Warner Bros. is also known to be in the running, following the weekend’s news that a judge had ruled the current bankruptcy operation was seemingly designed to thwart other non-Clearlake bidders rather than actually being in the best financial interests of THQ’s creditors.

As such, all parties have now agreed to a title-by-title auction — which may mean that different interested parties end up with different IPs.

Source: Develop

During the course of a hearing into THQ’s increasingly unlikely wholesale purchase by Clearlake Capital, five potential purchasers have expressed interest, Distressed Debt reports. One of these is Warner Bros.

As you may recall from yesterday, the US Trustee in charge of THQ’s bankruptcy, and its creditors, objected to the sale. Centerview, THQ’s banker, said it has proof buyers are keen on a piecemeal sale of THQ’s assets, but that THQ didn’t provide enough information to allow these to be valued. THQ was also made to look a little dodgy over the course of the hearing; it had projected a cashflow of $10 million debit, but actually holds $3.4 million credit.

Looking over the details of the proposed sale, the judge did not approve either the bidding process (which at 30 days is considered too short for alternate parties to participate) or the DIP motion (which would allow THQ to act as trustee for its assets in place of its creditors).

The hearing will reconvene on Monday and all parties have been told to get together and work out their problems beforehand if possible.

Source: Beefjack

When THQ went bankrupt, we were relieved to learn that none of its studios were in danger of closing, and that its line up of 2013 and 2014 titles were still on track. This unusual result came about thanks to a proposed deal between THQ and its “stalking horse” purchaser, one Clearlake Capital, who proposed to lend it money to keep itself going, purchase all its assets as a job lot, and take over its debts.

Unfortunately, the US Trustee assigned to oversee THQ’s bankruptcy took one look at this deal filed a formal objection to its very narrow bidding window – just 30 days – and excessive fees to be paid to Clearlake should the deal fall through, both factors likely to squeeze out competing bids.

Meanwhile, THQ’s creditors – those who hope to recoup cash lent to THQ over the years have sent in their own complaints, saying the deal had been brokered “specifically to thwart any potential bidders from stepping forward to compete with Clearlake’s bid” rather than in the best interest of THQ’s creditors.

The future of THQ’s stable (Company of Heroes 2, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Metro: Last Light and four unannounced games) is uncertain should creditors insist on a piecemeal sale of the publisher’s assets.

Source: Joystiq, Distressed Debt

MCV UK is reporting overnight that Ubisoft are rumoured to be considering a purchase of the struggling THQ, who recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as they restructure.

According to sources within Ubisoft, the company is currently in negotiations with THQ (or their new owners at Clearlake Capital) but aren’t willing to drop the dosh on THQ until the price drops to bottom-barrel levels. Ubisoft are reportedly prepared to hold out until THQ becomes desperate enough to sell off specific assets — presumably, one or two key franchises that the French company have had their eye on.

Ubisoft have made no comment, and considering the nature of the story, probably won’t. More as it happens!

Source: MCV UK

It looks like the rip-roaring success of the Humble THQ Bundle wasn’t nearly enough: THQ have today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be selling to a new financial partner. The move will not affect the launch of any games currently in development, such as Metro: Last Light, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Company of Heroes 2 or Homefront 2.

“Today THQ announced that it has secured an investor, a private equity firm named Clearlake Capital Group,” writes Jason Rubin, “who is interested in purchasing most of what you think makes up THQ: the teams that make the games (Relic, THQ Montreal, Vigil and Volition), THQ’s Intellectual Property (titles, source code, etc.), THQ’s contracts (like the ones with Crytek, South Park Digital Studios, 4A games, Obsidian, and Turtle Rock) and the support staff that are required to help the teams succeed.”

“In fact, Clearlake is even providing the company the money it needs to keep working on the products as the process plays itself out. And importantly, when the purchase is complete, Clearlake has committed to invest additional ample capital to let us finish the games we are making and continue making games going forward. In short, they are investing in a new start for our company.”

“The sale needs to be completed through a Chapter 11 proceeding of the Bankruptcy code, which we filed today. Given the intense speculation that we have experienced in recent weeks and months, this news probably isn’t that surprising.”

So why are THQ doing this right before Christmas? “Admittedly, the timing is unfortunate. But as we announced a few weeks ago, we have a January 15 deadline approaching for our bank funding. So if you work backwards to allow the necessary time to complete a sale, you end up at this week. Since all of THQ’s worldwide employees are off for a week and a half of paid vacation starting Friday for the holidays and will return to work on January 2nd, it hardly matters anyway.”

Source: THQ

The Humble THQ Bundle, which can only be described as a rip-roaring success, has caused THQ’s CEO Jason Rubin to expand his platform horizons.

Asked over Twitter whether the company would consider Linux support, Rubin replied that THQ had “Got the Linux message loud and clear via #HumbleBundle feedback. Evaluating cost/benefit as we speak.”

Though this is far from actual confirmation of a Linux release, THQ adding official support for Linux would bring it in behind Valve, who have been recently leading the charge on all things Linux- and gaming-related. It seems things are looking up for Linux gamers!

Source: PCGamesN

The Humble THQ Bundle has now closed, raking in $5,097,474.23 with 885,287 bundles sold. This marks the second-highest grossing Humble Bundle, and is one that isn’t likely to be surpassed in the future (unless we see another Humble Major Publisher Bundle, I fear).

At an average price of $5.76, purchasers were able to pick up Red Faction: Armageddon, Darksiders, Metro 2033 and Company of Heroes, with Saints Row the Third being available for above-average purchasers. Titan Quest and Dawn of War were later added.

Top contributors include THQ CEO Jason Rubin with $10,000, THQ’s former CEO Brian Farrell with $1,650 and Wargaming.net with $1,600.

The article originally claimed this was the most profitable Humble Bundle in history — thanks to iohth for the correction.

Source: Humble Bundle

Whether you love or are weirded out by the THQ Humble Bundle (“love” is the correct emotion), there’s no deny that it’s making a lot of money for both THQ and charities.

In fact, it’s making so much money that it’s caused THQ’s stock price to jump by a staggering 40%, up from $1.07 to $1.60.

This new price has been lauded by observers here in the games.on.net offices as “less on-the-brink-of-death than before”, which is excellent as THQ’s ongoing financial woes have already forced massive layoffs both here in Australia and abroad, as well as the delay of multiple flagship titles.

Source: VG247

A quick look over at the Humble THQ Bundle, where you can buy some of gaming’s best AAA titles for practically nothing, shows that the bundle has now cranked its way up to almost $3.2 million worth of sales.

The sales come after Humble Bundle and THQ have faced criticism for changing the core model of the Bundles, which is theoretically to support indie developers and charity at the same time — not big-name developers like THQ. Speaking to Rock, Paper, Shotgun, a Humble Bundle rep has this to say: “When THQ expressed interest in our pay what you want plus charity model and willingness to let us bundle so many top tier titles, we couldn’t believe it at first. But trying to turn up our noses at this epic chance to make gamers happy and help worthy causes like Child’s Play and the American Red Cross could only have been defined as arrogance.”

“We had to try and we were extremely curious to see what would happen.”

“So far, it’s been pretty well received: we’re on record pace both in total sales and number of purchases. It looks like we’ve passed the two million dollar mark in just 16 hours. We are hopeful that this excitement is growing our community in a way that can only help our future promotions, and rest assured that indie bundles will continue to be an important part of our business.”

Source: RPS

THQ’s recent financial troubles aren’t a secret to anybody, but I didn’t realise we were at the point where buying their games was akin to giving away money to struggling indie developers. And yet, today, the internet is abuzz with the news of The Humble THQ Bundle, where you can get some of PC gaming’s biggest titles for basically nothing.

Check this: the bundle includes Darksiders, Metro 2033, Red Faction: Armageddon, Company of Heroes, and its expansions Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor. If you pay $5.64 or more you’ll even unlock Saints Row the Third, one of the best and most stupidly fun games I’ve ever played. Oh, and you get all the soundtracks for free. Have you even heard the Saints Row soundtrack? That shiz is banging.

All the games redeem through Steam too, so there’s no need to download or install any wacky software — although, unlike previous Humble Bundles, there is no Linux or Mac support and, yes, Steam does mean DRM. This deal runs for the next 12 days, so get in before the average price goes up. Each of these games is worth at least $5 alone, and now you can get literally all of them for $5. I don’t understand, and I don’t care. Get in.

Source: Humble Bundle

It’s no secret THQ are in serious financial trouble. In case you haven’t been following, here’s a quick recap: first poor financials meant they had to delay some of their top upcoming titles, games they hoped would be their saviour; then following that news, their share price plummeted. Finally, it was reported that they had defaulted on their $50 million line of credit with Wells Fargo.

All in all, not doing so hot. THQ are now, understandably, looking for new ways to inject an influx of cashy-money into their company. One way to get some quick cash would be to sell off some IP — a prospect that Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has said would interest his company. “They have good things,” he told GamesIndustry.biz as part of a larger interview. “We are always interested in good brands. For sure, it’s something we can consider, but I can’t tell you more.”

Speaking more generally of THQ’s hard times, Guillemot said that it was lamentable, but part of the nature of the beast.

“What happened to [THQ] is something that happens regularly when we have transition,” he said. “Some can make it, some decide to go in different direction. It happened with Atari and Midway and also Acclaim last generation. … It’s something that happens in this industry and that’s the way the industry consolidates.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Things aren’t exactly looking good for THQ at the moment, with a poor financial report and game delays across the board followed up by a massive plunge in share price.

Another bit of dire news makes the trifecta: THQ has filed a report with the SEC stating that they are now in default on their $50 million line of credit with Wells Fargo bank. The company is now in discussions with the bank and believes it will reach an agreement that will allow it to continue, but notes that there is no guarantee.

More news as it breaks. In the meantime, why not reminisce about the better times, as Toby walks us back through THQ’s great gaming contributions?

Source:

THQ have been falling to bits for a while now. It’s hard to pin down exactly when it started, but I noticed whispers of their decline around the time Homefront came out and, er, didn’t do very well at all. One game-bomb can’t sink a veteran cruiser this big, but then Red Faction: Armageddon spectacularly failed to hit the mark for many a gamer (why, I still don’t know. I love this game) and it seemed more or less official: The good ship THQ was in trouble. Trouble that persists and appears increasingly dire, as this week’s news will attest.

If it all comes to a calamitous end, that’s a hopelessly weeping shame. Not just for the men and women who work there, but for gaming as a whole. A shadow of their former self they might be circa right now, but when I think back and think hard (it hurts), I realise that THQ have put out a tone of games that rendered an absolute if frequently unsung service to the endless and gratifying pursuit of blowing things up. One of my gateway drugs to the fifth generation of gaming’s firefights was a THQ title. The original Red Faction, in fact. Prior to discovering the beauty of railguns that could see through walls argh, I’d gotten pretty down on gaming and had committed myself to becoming a tethered swimming champion.

The day I sent an Ultor war machine plummeting through the crude hole in a rock bridge I’d just made with the rocket I’d let fly with no expectations of awesome devastation on that kind of level was the day I rediscovered The Precious. Red Faction II copped a critical beating and while it did stray from Parker’s epic Martian misadventure in a narrative sense, goddamn it, that’s Jason Statham flying me places.

True, those were ten years ago. Okay, seven years ago: The Punisher. I don’t read the comics, but I played this game. Oh baby did I play this game. At that point I’d never experienced a shooter that made me feel physically ill in a profoundly great way, and this was it. The vague monotone censoring fuzzed over the reprehensible (and glorious) violence of the environmental kills did little to prevent scar tissue forming over whatever lobe is the one that used to be responsible for crying me to sleep. You think The Darkness II took brutality to another level? This did it first.

Still, 2005. Groan, come on. What’ve THQ done for me lately? S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, for one. Hot dang if that game wasn’t a flawed masterpiece of spiritually Falloutish glory. Fumbling in the subterranean dark with Metro 2033 was the logical next step for most, and I get uncomfortable and kind of itchy just thinking about it. I can’t recall another game that gives me a rash quite like this one. Maybe Haze, but for an entirely different reason. Man, that thing can get fu-

Hey, I’m neglecting Saints Row: The Third and that simply will not do. Any game that can legitimately turn people away in significant droves from Grand Theft Auto’s cult of personality is doing something right, in an extremely wrong way. You can’t leave, THQ. I won’t let you. I’m like the ship out of Event Horizon and you are my Laurence Fishburne.

THQ have released their financial results for the second quarter of FY2013, and to say “it’s not looking good” would be an understatement. They’re not as bad as previously projected, but net losses for the company are now in the order of $21 million — and on their investor earnings call, the company refused to take questions from analysts.

THQ is also now refusing to provide earnings guidance for the rest of the year, saying essentially “we just don’t know”.

“How does this affect me?” I hear you ask? “Delays” is the answer: Company of Heroes 2, South Park: The Stick of Truth and Metro: Last Light are all now being held back. South Park is projected for “early fiscal 2014″, also known as “anytime after June next year”, and Company of Heroes 2 and Metro are now both slated for March 2013.

Needless to say, many are asking if this is the beginning of the end for THQ. It’s too early to tell, but with Darksiders II struggling to break even, THQ shutting down their Australian offices and shuttering their game studios both in Australia and abroad, it’d sure be nice to see some good news come out of the company for once.

Source: Business Wire via Blues’s News

When Darksiders II released back in August, it was topping the sales charts in the US for that month. Despite this, industry analyst Michael Pachter has said that the game is struggling to break even. “August release Darksiders II has sold an estimated 1 million units to date, and appears to be struggling to approach its 2 million units break-even threshold,” he said in a note to investors.

THQ have restructured themselves in recent months to become a more streamlined company since they first began having financial troubles. In their first fiscal quarter of this year, they were back in the black. Pachter, however, believes things could still be tight for THQ in coming days.

“Darksiders II‘s performance and a history of game delays and cancellations leaves us skeptical that THQ can successfully execute its turnaround strategy, which centers on a streamlined release slate. If any of THQ’s Q4 13 releases are late, liquidity is likely to be tight by next summer unless either Homefront 2 or the Patrice Désilets game are released by then.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz