Platinum Games interested in Darksiders franchise

Platinum Games has expressed an interest in both recruiting talent from Vigil Games and purchasing the Darksiders IP, though it says it would be "on the cheap."

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Yesterday we finally got word of where THQ's franchises were going, as the company's intellectual properties were sold off piece-meal to various publishers. One notable exception, however, was Vigil Games and the Darksiders franchise, which went unclaimed. The series' fortunes look bleak, but Platinum Games has signaled an interest in saving it.

IGN reports that JP Kellams, a talent spotter and translator for Platinum, reached out to Vigil lead designer Haydn Dalton about getting in touch with staff members to work with or at Platinum.

Then, Platinum head Atsushi Inaba tweeted (translated by Kotaku), "In THQ studio and IP selling off auction, Darksiders is unsold? [We] wanna buy it...on the cheap..."

Platinum isn't as flush with funds as some auction buyers like Ubisoft or Take 2, so the purchase would probably have to be "on the cheap." But given that Darksiders hasn't stirred up interest elsewhere, that might be a viable goal. This could mean future games in the Darksiders franchise, and possibly even some involvement from former team members if they take Kellams up on the job offer.

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  • reply
    January 24, 2013 7:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Platinum Games interested in Darksiders franchise.

    Platinum Games has expressed an interest in both recruiting talent from Vigil Games and purchasing the Darksiders IP, though it says it would be "on the cheap."

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      January 24, 2013 7:40 AM

      Darksiders by way of Platinum would be totally fine.

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      January 24, 2013 7:43 AM

      God yes. Someone good buy this! I will love you FOREVER! (provided you don't fuck it up :D )

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      January 24, 2013 8:20 AM

      This would be a pretty fantastic home for this franchise and some Vigil employees.

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      January 24, 2013 8:27 AM

      Yes, please make it happen. Man I wish I had millions I would buy them instantly and keep the shop as is I really love what they did with 2(I thought it was perfect) and just let them do exactly what they where doing un altered.

      My only clause would be that they would have to make the rest of them :) I am sure they would not mind.

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      January 24, 2013 8:31 AM

      there's gotta be some reason why nobody bought it on the cheap in the first place. like crytek bought homefront for 500k (don't think this included the studio did it?). i wonder if there was a minimum bid for the entire studio that nobody wanted to cough up

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        January 24, 2013 8:42 AM

        Crytek just bought the IP to a game they were already making. I have no idea what happened with the Vigil bid but am pretty sad about the whole thing.

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          January 24, 2013 6:25 PM

          From what I understand, Crytek is going free to play. If that really does happen, I am glad that they did not get Darksiders and/or Vigil.

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      January 24, 2013 8:49 AM

      All you have to do is look at the top 20 games being played on Xbox (at least).
      and you'll understand why games fail and what a surprise it is when something actually sells.
      MOST "gamers" save their dough for the next COD and call it a day.
      That's what they refer to as hardcore gaming.
      Meantime dev shops are closing and going bankrupt left and right.

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      January 24, 2013 9:14 AM

      Good, because the Darksiders franchise is too friggin cool to go away. (And Vigil has some righteous dudes who deserve to continue working on it) [And Platinum Games is AOK in my book]

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      January 24, 2013 9:27 AM

      That would be a fun mix, though by their own admission they can't pay a lot. Still, I have no idea how Chapter 11 works in detail but surely someone could still buy the studio/franchise?

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        January 24, 2013 9:30 AM

        The studio, at this point, is finito, although theoretically some one could pick up all the talent separately that's unlikely to happen. The franchise will be auctioned off in the next couple of weeks.

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      January 24, 2013 9:34 AM

      Vanquish is the shiz. I know nothing about darksiders but if Platinum thinks there is some talent at that studio worth hiring then I'm all for this.

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        January 26, 2013 5:43 AM

        Yeah, it was fun except that last time trial. I don't think I have ever gotten so frustrated at a game before. The last one was complete BS.

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      January 24, 2013 9:36 AM

      Even if you buy a studio, if you can't afford to pay the employees to keep working, it will still result in everyone losing their jobs. Let's not get too hopeful for this, folks.

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      January 24, 2013 10:01 AM

      Man, I just played the demo of MGS Revengeance and it's fantastic. Platinum, please do Darksiders.

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      January 24, 2013 10:29 AM

      whatever it takes to crank out another good darksiders or two, I'm all for it.

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