THQ studios and games sold to Sega, Koch Media, Crytek, Take 2, and Ubisoft
In an auctioning process, THQ has sold many of its studios and upcoming games.
In an auctioning process, THQ has sold many of its studios and upcoming games. Sega has agreed to purchase Relic Entertainment, developer of the upcoming Company of Heroes 2. Given the publisher's penchant for PC strategy games (like the Total War series), Relic's future may be relatively safe in the House of Sonic. According to @DDInvesting, Sega fronted $26 million in the auction, proving they want ownership of the PC strategy space.
Koch Media, owner of the Deep Silver publishing label, has agreed to purchase publishing rights for Metro: Last Light, and Volition, developer of THQ's successful Saints Row franchise. Koch Media offered $22.3 million for Volition, $5.8 million for Metro.
Crytek, developer of the upcoming Homefront 2, has agreed to purchase the IP from THQ--a rare move where a developer can outright buy a property from its publisher. The cost of the IP purchase: a mere $500k.
Take 2, owner of the 2K Games and Rockstar Games label, has agreed to take "Evolve," the unannounced next game from Turtle Rock Studios, developer of the Left 4 Dead franchise. The publisher offered $11 million for the title, suggesting a lot of confidence in the unseen project.
Finally, Ubisoft has agreed to purchase THQ Montreal, ironically recapturing Patrice Désilets in the process. Désilets worked on the Assassin's Creed franchise before moving on to work on to the yet-announced 1666. The French publisher will also pick up South Park: The Stick of Truth--arguably THQ's biggest upcoming game. Ubisoft spent only $2.5 million for the Montreal studio, less than the $3.2 million it fronted for the South Park game.
The publisher expects these deals to close as early as this week. However, Kotaku points out that a number of other parts of the business have been unsold. For example, Vigil Games, developer of the Darksiders franchise, is still unclaimed. "They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case," CEO Brian Farrell wrote in a letter to employees. "We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible."
"We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners," the letter says. "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," adding "unfortunately, employees of a studio that were not purchased will have their position end."
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Shacknews
replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, THQ studios and games sold to Sega, Koch Media, Crytek, Take 2, and Ubisoft.
In an auctioning process, THQ has sold many of its studios and upcoming games.-
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The first showing of Dead Island started out pretty piss-poor. I guess we'll see if they've learned anything in their next installment coming up soon. I'd say you'd be able to get a fair judgement after that of the direction it'll be going.
Truthfully, I think 2k/Gearbox would have made a good buyer for Saints Row. They've got that over-the-top ridiculousness in their games more so than probably any other company out there currently.-
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For a relatively unknown studio I have to give them a lot of credit for making what they did. It wasn't perfect but it was a great first attempt.
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Considering how well Sega has handled Creative Assembly and the TW franchise I'm definitely ok with that move. They also get control over the Warhammer 40k rights. I hope in the long run this increases the chances of a new Homeworld game. As far as Deep Silver I thought Dead Island was a decent game especially for a new IP by a relatively unknown studio. I doubt they're going to fuck with Volition though.
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I know it's wishful thinking on my part, but Relic going to Sega makes me want a Total War style 40K game EVEN MORE.
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Sega owning WH40K? Hmmmmmmm. Interesting.
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I'm assuming the agreements with Relic over the Warhammer 40k franchise probably won't be voided. Sega got the rights to make other Warhammer games recently so I'm assuming things will be worked out one way or another. I'm assuming they got the rights to Homeworld as well.
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In the very least I won't be surprised if Sega makes an agreement over Warhammer 40k with THQ effectively dead.
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One way or another, we need more Dawn of War!!
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Indeed. I kind of feel like Sega is carving out a RTS niche for itself.
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I think I'd like the idea of Bethesda acquiring the Darksiders series for some reason, if any company is going to buy it. Guess we'll wait and see.
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I wanted to buy Relic and then have them make Homeworld 3. Unfortunately I don't have $26 million.
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Do you guys keep the 40k IP rights?
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I really hope someone picks up Vigil, they need to stick around.
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I want to know who bought up all the extra uDraws.
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Yeah I think Darksiders is a good fit for Ubi, despite Uplay and AssCreedin' everything and all.
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5.4 million is a damned pittance for Volition. Kinda disappointed that Zenimax didn't end up with Relic (or anything else, for that matter); I want to see more developers and titles move back to private ownership.
Although, now that I look closer, I think Koch Media is still privately held rather than being publicly traded.-
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Glad to see last light and saints row series will live on.
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Vigil might be finished already, one of their designers looking for a job: https://twitter.com/verytragic/status/294168371161866241
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Fuck. Say it aint so :(
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shacker confirmed http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=29576944#item_29576944
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PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! Somebody buy Vigil for Darksiders...
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Noooooooooo Darksiders coooo-ooooop.
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I have my doubts that SEGA will last the decade. They've had a rough few last years.
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Kind of crazy that Volition went for so little.
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$22 is little?
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lol, $22 million of course. $22 is indeed little :D
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Agreed, also I would have much rather seen Volition go to pretty much any other publisher listed here...
Outside of Dead Island, and I guess X3 and maybe STALKER, Deep Silver publishes generic IP tie-ins and nothing else, it appears. Very few of their titles are what I would call "AAA".
I do not have good feelings about them taking over Saints Row :/ -
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From the sounds of it though if they had bid significantly less they may have lost out to the all in one bid.
Most unfortunately that would've been best case scenario for Vigil :(
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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 t:
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 and 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
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This is a warning to everyone thinking of getting into the game design department - GET OUT NOW, it's a over inflated business you'll be constantly wondering if you'll have a job after the next project... People already before this where looking for jobs all over the place and it's just not worth it... Going Indie is the best thing to do no bullshit higher ups betting their future invested in the joke of a stock market and leaving you or your company always on a fine line... I'm sure there's great game companies out there but it's only a matter of time before they become this... :P
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did EA or 2k sports end up with the WWE license?
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This is makes me happy :) It didn't turn out to bad after all.
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I have to admit,even though I HATED the first Homefront game,I'm extremely curious to see what Crytek does with it.It can only get better,imo.
My other big concern is the ultimate fate for the Darksiders franchise.First game was really good,second game was great (my personal GoTY),and who knows where it goes from here.Hopefully it can go to a more than competent owner that doesn't screw the next one up.-
Yeah, I'm also interested in what Crytek will do (big Crtek fan myself). And if it uses CryEngine3 it could be interesting. But I wonder who will publish the game? I hope not EA...
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Lot of people like Second Sight and Timesplitters (1&2). Regardless, it's barely the same company anyway. This is a pretty good read about the life and death of Free Radical: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-05-04-free-radical-vs-the-monsters
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I never played Second Sight to be fair, but I always found TimeSplitters to be hugely derivative with a disjointed, random single player campaign and hugely unbalanced multiplayer - I guess some people found charm in the "everything including the kitchen sink but no original ideas of their own" approach.
Haze was abysmal all round, however.
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Go to MobyGames. Compare the team members. Go on. Free Radical dined off the "We made Goldeneye!" bullshit for way too long, a tiny fraction of that team were at Free Radical and they never made a game remotely as important or good.
Goldeneye was a great game for the time, no question. Perfect Dark pushed the N64 too hard and, having tried it more recently on Xbox, does not hold up at all.
TimeSplitters 1/2 were an inconsistent pick 'n' mix of any idea they felt like throwing into the pot. Charming and chaotic? Maybe. Classics? No.
Don't even get me started about Haze.
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buh bye.
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You tell yourself why you'll never invest in game companies again...
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That would be Homefront, not Homeworld.
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It makes sense but it feels like we don't know enough yet. THQ's CEO makes mention of unsold IPs here.
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.
http://kotaku.com/5978429/this-is-the-letter-that-thq-sent-to-employees-today -
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there's a legal document that was released detailing what each sale included, and a lot of it dealt with contracts. Volition was already working on Saints Row 4 and they would have made a contract with THQ to do so, and in order to purchase Volition you needed to buy that contract. So you get the game and potentially the IP for the franchise in that case. But if you look at another franchise that Volition has worked on, like Red Faction (and they made all four of those games) that's not mentioned anywhere because they weren't working on it (or at least there was no contract for it). Compare that to THQ Montreal which had two in-dev games, you buy that studio then you end up with the rights to those games as well.
That's why it seems like any 3rd party studios (currently Turtle Rock on their project and 4A Games working on the next Metro game) seem to be okay because the purchase included their contract with THQ to make the game. It's also why buying Homefront was s good idea for Crytek since they're already working on Homefront 2 and now they will probably shop it to EA Partners to publish.
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Wait, so they owned it all this time and NEVER FUCKING MADE A SEQUEL?
GOD DAMMIT!
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Relic got the rights back for it which means Sega now has them.
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Ill gladly take a spiritual successor to Homeworld 2 then.
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From Neogaf
Homeworld IP is claimed to be in the retention of THQ
http://www.indiegogo.com/save-homeworld?c=activity
Also in Relic's kitchen today
http://i.imgur.com/ZnbqGeP.jpg-
Damn it all to hell.
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If they can't make a direct Homeworld sequel I at least want a super awesome spiritual successor.
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Does Relic even still have the right people to make another Homeworld?
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/17/interview-homeworld-dev-tells-all-about-new-rts-hardware/ -
Does Relic even still have most of the people that worked on Homeworld? I mean, it seems like some of the major people are doing other stuff.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/01/17/interview-homeworld-dev-tells-all-about-new-rts-hardware/
(Sry if double post, the other one is definitely not showing up)
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I would be shocked if there's a single person who even worked on Homeworld 2 still at Relic, it seems like everyone moved on. Not to disparage Company of Heroes and their Warhammer 4K stuff, but... it's not the same Relic anymore, and I'm okay with them not having access to Homeworld. The happiest move I could see at this point is someone actually grabbing the rights, and then getting the three games on GOG and Steam.
A sequel? I don't know. Maybe it's been too long, and long shot hope for something like Human Revolution happening just isn't good enough for me.-
Honestly I'm not sure where they could go with the story for a 3rd game. Like I say I'd at least be happy to see a spiritual successor. Even if most of the original team is gone I think Relic is more than capable of making a quality space RTS.
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Their legacy IPs are to be sold off later this month, if Twitter is to be believed.
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