In a move that many of us have been expecting for some time, one of the better-known names in video game publishing and development, THQ Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. The filing essentially puts THQ in its entirety up for sale at auction, provided a purchaser is willing to acquire not just the company but also its existing debts. Part of the documentation for the court records included a detailed listing of each of THQ's products, including their upcoming list of games for the next few years, as well as those games' estimated release dates and expected sales information.

The games specifically mentioned by THQ include the following:

• Saints Row 4, by Volition
• Company of Heroes 2, by Relic Entertainment
• Homefront 2, by Crytek UK
• Darksiders 2, by Vigil Games
• WWE '13, by Yuke's
• WWE '14, by Yuke's
• Metro: Last Light, by 4A Games
• South Park: The Stick of Truth, by Obsidian Entertainment
• Evolve, by Turtle Rock Studios
• 1666, by THQ Montreal
• Atlas, by Relic Entertainment
• Crawler, by Vigil Games

While specific release dates were not explicitly mentioned, also included in the documents were charts indicating the rough allocation of each game's resources over the next few years, from which we can deduce when those games are expected to be near completion. 1666, for example, has over 30% of its total current budget allocated as far out as 2015, meaning we likely won't see the game until then. Homefront 2, Evolve, Saints Row 4 and WWE '14 all appear geared for a 2014 release (which we should hope for WWE '14, after all), while South Park, Metro: Last Light and others are heavily invested in 2013. Company of Heroes 2 has an oddly high amount of its budget allocated as far out as 2015, given its expected release in the first quarter of next year. However, this is likely an indication of Relic Entertainment's expected DLC support for the game, which not all titles will have.



The initial offer for purchase came from Clearwater Capital Group, for a total of $60,000,000 USD. However, there is no guarantee that such a purchase will take place; a company must simply provide a potential buyer and bid while filing for Chapter 11 protection. If the court approves the filing, THQ will then be put up for public auction. The general reaction of potential buyers indicates that there is no desire to break THQ apart and buy its components, but rather that it is worth more to them as a single entity. The market value of the company at the end of the trading day on Tuesday was only $11.5 million dollars, yet prospective bids have been dramatically higher than that.

Despite currently being well over one hundred million dollars in debt, THQ has stated that they currently do not intend to lay off any of their current staff. As any Relic fan can attest, this is very reassuring news after the mass lay-offs last February decimated the Vancouver studio and crippled support for the Dawn of War franchise. THQ currently also claims that the Chapter 11 filing will not cause further delays in its game development. In the words of THQ CEO Brian Farrell, "The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ’s transformation and position the company for the future, as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios and THQ’s deep bench of talent."

The budget listings for continued support, are these guaranteed even after the acquisition? If it does take place that is.

I imagine it'd be subject to change, particularly if THQ was bought out by someone who wanted to change it. Exactly how much it could change though, that's pretty much up for debate.

With $100 million of debt, any acquiring company will likely scrap post game budget allocations to save money (short term), which will spell disaster for games post release.

Sad times.

emmm a little help here pls.

sound very grave news. but can anyone explain this to me in simply way? (my understanding about lawsuit in english is very poor)

how this will effect on player? what about pre-order? will the game release?/release on time?

To make it very simple, THQ owed too much money to keep going on their own. This move basically allows someone else to buy the whole company, so they don't have to sell off parts of it. If someone buys them, THQ will probably keep working like they already do, they'll just be working for someone else. The good side is that new company will also be paying money to the other companies that THQ owes money, which THQ can't do right now.

If THQ just kept going the way they are right now, they'd run out of money completely and have to start firing people and selling studios. This way, they can avoid that.



Sadly, we don't know any of this for sure yet. THQ said they hope to keep their games coming out on time, meaning CoH2's release date will stay where it is. It's not possible to say for sure what will happen until someone actually does buy THQ. It depends on how much the new buyer wants to change what THQ had planned.

Well, fuck.

Really sad news, but let's hope for the best.

I think Relic will be safe. I heard a rumor that Activision will buy them.

CoH: Modern warfare 3? Do not want.

Relic should be ok regardless. If THQ is bought as a whole, they'll simply stay where they are. If not, they're a proven studio with a solid track record and will just be snapped up by someone else, probably someone without an RTS wing and which wants to step into the field.

$100m liabilities. Just start a new dept. Solar games and get some gov't hand-outs. Oh, don't forget to donate to the DNC.

My only wish is that EA stays away from the company or any franchises they have.

So what they really need to do is cut overhead costs like management, building costs and so forth, and use their capital to create new assets.
Because there is often an ebb and flow of being broke, but games coh like are not poor games. So they dont need to be broke forever.

Cut liabilities by working from home!

I have to say, apart from Metro, I cant see any of those games being a big hit. Nothing block buster yet.


Apple was in a similar position. The Greatest Comeback Story Of All Time: How Apple Went From Bankruptcy to Billions in 13 years.
Thats came down to a specific set of principles. Focusing on what they were really good at and cutting out everything else.

This post has been edited by Alexander Begg: Dec 27 2012, 02:51 AM

^^ I learned not to comment on topics I had absolutely NO F*****N IDEA and totally out of my comprehension about a long time ago.

Whatever happens, the key to life is to be happy with or without money.

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