THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes Devs Acquired

[keithlewis]

THQ Dissolved, Saints Row, Company of Heroes Devs Acquired

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/01/23/ ... s-acquired

Following THQ’s auction of its assets, the new homes of THQ franchises are slowly being revealed. Koch Media, Take-Two, Ubisoft and SEGA are among the potential new owners of THQ’s intellectual property and studios.

It's worth noting that all of these sales are pending approval from U.S. bankruptcy court and nothing is finalized yet. A hearing is currently underway in Delaware.

*SEGA has agreed to purchase Relic, developer of Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War.

*Koch Media (owner of Dead Island publisher Deep Silver) has agreed to purchase Saints Row developer Volition as well as the publishing rights to the Metro franchise.

*Crytek, who is currently developing Homefront 2, has purchased the rights to the Homefront franchise.

*Take-Two (parent company of 2K and Rockstar) has agreed to purchase Turtle Rock Studios’ project codenamed Evolve. (Update: While Take Two was initially rumored to have acquired Darksiders publisher Vigil, it has since been revealed that this isn't the case)

*Ubisoft has purchased the rights to publish South Park: The Stick of Truth (pending any further objections from South Park Studios) as well as THQ Montreal, the current developer of Assassin’s Creed creator Patrice Desilets’ project codenamed 1666.

According to Distressed Debt Investing, Ubisoft paid $3.2 million for South Park and $2.5 million for THQ Montreal, Koch Media paid $5.8 million for Metro and $22.3 million for Volition and Crytek paid $500,000 for Homefront. No bids were placed for Vigil.

Polygon reports that SEGA bid $26.6 million for Relic, and a second-place bid came from Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media, who offered $26.3 million. The site also reports that Take-Two paid $10.8 million for Evolve, with a second place bid for $250,000 coming from Turtle Rock itself.

Many THQ employees, meanwhile, have reportedly lost their jobs based on early reports on Twitter.

Assets including Darksiders studio Vigil and have not been acquired. The future home of the WWE franchise has yet to be disclosed.

[keithlewis]

Crytek Acquires Rights to Homefront IP


Crytek GmbH today announced the acquisition of the intellectual property rights for the Homefront franchise following an auction of assets by THQ Inc. Crytek’s association with the Homefront IP began in autumn 2011, when the developer announced it would be creating the second game in the series in partnership with THQ Inc. Following THQ’s recent decision to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy and the subsequent sale of the publisher’s assets, Crytek submitted the high bid at auction to secure the rights to the Homefront franchise.

Crytek CEO, Cevat Yerli, said: “Since we first reached an agreement to develop Homefront 2, we’ve been firm believers in the IP and its potential to excite and amaze players. 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.”

Development work will continue on Homefront 2 at Crytek’s UK studio in Nottingham. “From day one, the Homefront 2 team has been committed to creating a game that takes the series to new heights and features the level of quality and innovation associated with Crytek,” said Nick Button-Brown, General Manager of Games at Crytek. “Nothing has changed with regards our development of the game, and we look forward to sharing the finished product with players.”

[keithlewis]

Koch Media/Deep Silver Acquires Intellectual Property Rights for Saints Row & Metro, Also Acquires North American Development Studio Volition in Closed Thq Auction


Koch Media, a leading independent producer and marketer of digital entertainment products in Europe and North America, announced today that it has secured the intellectual property rights for two of the most popular and successful THQ franchises, Metro and Saints Row, as well as Chicago-based development studio, Volition, as THQ continues to liquidate its assets in closed auctions this week.

Deep Silver, Koch Media’s international publishing powerhouse, will lead all further development and marketing on the Saints Row and Metro franchises, each of which boast millions of units sold worldwide and vast, dedicated fan bases.

“Koch Media welcomes the addition of these magnificent franchises to the Koch Media family of entertainment properties,” said Dr. Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Koch Media GmbH. “With more than 200 games on notable platforms globally, and its proven success creating renowned franchises like Dead Island, Deep Silver is perfectly positioned to lead these brands into the next generation of interactive entertainment for fans around the world.”

“These franchises hold a special place in the hearts and minds of anyone who loves exceptional video games,” said Geoff Mulligan, COO of Deep Silver, Inc. “We’re thrilled to usher in a new era for these franchises and are proud to welcome the visionaries and talented forces at Volition on board.”

Koch Media and Deep Silver will roll out future plans for each franchise in the coming months.

[keithlewis]

Notice of SEGA's Acquisition of Relic Entertainment and some IPs owned by THQ Inc.


SEGA Corporation (Headquarters: Tokyo, President, Representative Director, and Chief Operating Officer: Naoya Tsurumi, “SEGA”) acquired all of shares of THQ Canada Inc. (Headquarters: Vancouver, Canada, “THQ Canada”) 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. THQ Canada has developed million-seller franchise titles such as “Warhammer 40k Dawn of War” and “Company of Heroes” under the brand of Relic Entertainment Studio.

Relic Entertainment was established in 1997 and acquired by THQ Canada in 2004. THQ Canada have been known familiarly as Relic Entertainment since the acquisition and provided a number of high quality games equipped with graphics equal in quality to movies and rich strategic game features mainly for the PC market in the U.S. and European regions. THQ Canada provides several million seller franchise titles, and its representative products include the “Warhammer 40k Dawn of War” series. As a series Warhammer 40k Dawn of War has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide, whilst the “Company of Heroes” series, a real time strategy game based on the modern history of warfare from World War II and after, has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide.

"We are incredibly excited to welcome Relic Entertainment into the Sega family. They are a highly respected development studio, with Company of Heroes and the Warhammer series both testament to the pedigree of their games” commented Jurgen Post, President and COO, SEGA Europe Ltd. “This acquisition is a strong strategic fit for us and completely in line with our focus on developing new and existing content.”

SEGA already owns three development companies in the U.S. and Europe, and is progressing to support compatibility with the rapidly expanding online games field, such as PC online games, smartphone games and social games. As a result of the THQ Canada acquisition, SEGA will further advance the provision of various appealing entertainment contents by utilising THQ Canada’s high-end content development capabilities and accumulated development know-how, and increase SEGA’s presence in the PC online game market.