Where Will THQ's Games and Studios Go?

Beleaguered publisher THQ formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
today, with investment firm Clearlake Capital Group acquiring everything
– “all the assets of THQ’s operating business, including THQ’s four
owned studios and games in development.” While nobody wants to see any
more jobs lost and see the company go under, the strong possibility
exists that the company’s assets (read: game franchises and development
studios) will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. So where are they
likely to go if that happens? Here are some likely scenarios.

Asset: South Park: The Stick of Truth

Notable Sales Figure: 3.1 million units*

Probable Destination: Microsoft

THQ does not own South Park, nor can it claim ownership of The Stick
of Truth’s developer, independent studio Obsidian. It merely holds the
publishing rights to this hotly anticipated RPG, which is likely to draw
a lot of interest due not only to the South Park brand, but also
because of the involvement of showrunners Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
These factors have fueled a lot of excitement and anticipation around
the game’s release. The fact that the game is almost done should also
add to its appeal for potential buyers, who are likely to be headlined
by Microsoft.

Microsoft? Wouldn’t that mean the PS3 version would be shelved,
thereby throwing away a lot of potential revenue? Yes, but Microsoft and
South Park have a long history together, including two exclusive Xbox
Live Arcade games – Tenorman’s Revenge and Let’s Go Tower Defense Play!.
Microsoft has also promoted South Park heavily on the Xbox Dashboard
and even offered a free HD download of the episode “Good Times With
Weapons.” In short, they have a long-term, solid working relationship.
And Microsoft could certainly use a complementary first-party release to
close out the Xbox 360 generation alongside Gears of War: Judgment.

[*In its bankruptcy filing, THQ’s internal sales forecasts set sales
expectations for The Stick of Truth at 3.1 million worldwide units sold]

Asset: Volition (including Saints Row)Notable Sales Figure: 5.5 million for Saints Row: The Third (per a THQ press release)

Probable Destination: Activision

It is Activision’s business model to have a relatively small number
of brands, with the tradeoff being that all of those are HUGE BRANDS.
Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Skylanders, etc. –
Activision spends a lot of money to make a lot of money. And they have
long coveted an open-world sandbox game to compete in the Grand Theft
Auto space. True Crime? Failed – both the original and the reboot.
Prototype? Failed. Saints Row is not only the biggest non-GTA sandbox
game on the market, but it offers Activision a turnkey solution to their
sandbox problem.

By purchasing developer Volition and simply funding them to keep
doing what they’re doing, Activision has a franchise that sells five
million copies every time out. Heck, with Activision’s marketing muscle,
they could probably push that up another million or two. I’d bet the
farm on this one. It just makes too much sense. And if Activision gets
Volition’s Red Faction franchise in the deal too, it’s an ace in the
hole they can play at a later date.

Asset: Relic Entertainment (including the Company of Heroes and Dawn of War franchises)

Notable Sales Figure: 2 million*

Probable Destination: EA

Relic and its real-time strategy game Company of Heroes 2
aren’t likely to move mountains, sales-wise, given how the RTS is
something of a niche genre, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be
profitable. Relic has a sterling track record, and like South Park,
Company offers a low-risk proposition to buyers thanks to its
near-guaranteed quality and the fact that it’s almost finished. In the
right hands, it can easily crack a million units and attain
profitability. And don’t forget about their other big brand, Dawn of
War. The company is rumored to be in the early development stages on
Dawn of War 3. With that in mind, EA is a likely landing spot, given the
mega-publisher’s penchant for RTS franchises. See: Command and Conquer,
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth, and SimCity.

[*In its bankruptcy filing, THQ’s internal sales forecasts set sales
expectations for Company of Heroes 2 at 2 million worldwide units sold]


Asset: Metro: Last Light

Notable Sales Figure: 1.5 million (worldwide sales of Metro 2033)

Probable Destination: Warner Bros.

The post-apocalyptic first-person shooter sequel Metro: Last Light,
like just about all of THQ’s in-development titles, seems to be shaping
up well (a fact that only adds to the sadness of the company’s dire
financial situation). And yes, it too is due out in the early months of
2013, meaning it’s quite far along. It’s also not wholly owned by THQ;
they’re merely handling publishing duties. Thus, predicting its new home
is the most difficult of the group, however, because so many publishers
already have a major FPS series in their stable. Therefore, it’s best
to look at who has a hole that needs filling, and whose portfolio a
bleak, M-rated adult shooter would best fit.

To that end, Warner Bros. seems like the most logical destination.
WBIE certainly isn’t afraid of a violent, M-rated title (see: Mortal
Kombat), and given the popularity of the FPS genre, they could certainly
use Metro, given that the currently dormant F.E.A.R. series (last seen
in mid-2011). Square Enix could also be a possible buyer.

I heard it's gonna be EA. As long as it's not Activision though, It'll all be okay for THQ

I think the games are going to be sold off to the highest bidder's, so I'm hoping that Bethesda buys Metro, Bethesda could keep that series going for a while to go, where as whoever buys Saints Row, will try to cash out on that big of a franchise.

EA (Electronic Arts) are the worst thing that ever happened to video games, they whore out and milk every fucking title they get, they FORCE all developers they own to add multiplayer to their games, they MAKE developers they own ship their games as quickly as possible, it will destroy all the great game series's they own eventually, such as Mass Effect, I'm not sure if I am going to like the next one as much as the original trilogy.

EA and Activision are the same but I like EA a bit more because they actually publish some good games. Then theres activision. There's call of duty and uhh... Well... Hmmm... Theres- no. OH I GOT IT!!! Nevermind.

I just hope the good games in that batch aren't destroyed, because I don't want to see metro and SR go...

Yeah same THQ is actually a really good company.

In my opinion they did that already with SR: the Third, I played the shit out of 2 and still do on occasion, but 3 got really old really quick.

SR: The third, is much more co-op based than SR2. I'll play SR: The third from time to time, but I agree with Screwed about SR2 being more re-playable.

Agreed. Saints Row 2 was hard to get all achievements in for me and finishing it a hundred percent. Saints row tye hird I almost ham finished with. Genkibowl VII is the only DLC I need and once i get the ten achievements for that, i'll have all achievements and just have fun with cheats! Thats what i've been working in the last few days In saints row 2 there were some cool things that they didnt add in SR3 for some reason like the record shops and hoosing which gang to take down first. It also had a decent multiplayer. Whored mode on Xbox live is almost impossible to get into a game and if you do its extremely laggy. They also removed Hydraulics for cars :(

Don't forget they left out the Fuzz activity, I don't know why, that shit was off the rails.

Theres always saints row 4 Hopefully it's good... -.-