THQ

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THQ, Inc.

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN US8724434035
founding 1989
resolution 2013
Reason for dissolution Breaking up after bankruptcy
Seat Agoura Hills , California , USA
management Brian J. Farrell (Chairman, CEO ),
Jason Rubin (President)
Number of employees 1300
sales $ 830.8 million USD (2012)

Old logo from THQ

THQ (short for: Toy Headquarters ) was an American manufacturer and publisher of video games , who developed games themselves as well as games developed by other companies. The headquarters were in Calabasas Hills, California , the German headquarters in Krefeld , while the international headquarters were in Zurich , Switzerland . THQ produced games for common game consoles such as GameBoy Advance , Nintendo GameCube , DS , Wii , Xbox , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 as well as for IBM -compatible PCs . On December 20, 2012, it was announced that the company's American division was filing for bankruptcy. The remaining goodwill was auctioned off at an auction in January 2013 and the group was broken up .

The THQ brand and logo have been used since 2016 by the Swedish Embracer Group (as THQ Nordic, formerly Nordic Games), which acquired the trademark rights after the bankruptcy. The Swedish THQ Nordic AB changed its name to Embracer Group in September 2019, but the Austrian subsidiary THQ Nordic GmbH still uses the name and logo.

Company history

The word THQ originally stood for Toy Headquarters when the company was still a toy manufacturer. THQ manufactured video games from 1994 to 2013. The German branch based in Krefeld was responsible for sales and marketing in the German-speaking market. THQ Entertainment GmbH was deleted from the commercial register (HRB 7713) on June 30, 2016.

uDraw failure and financial problems 2012

In December 2011, THQ announced that sales of the uDraw console accessory were well below expectations. In its quarterly report at the beginning of February 2012, the group had to admit an inventory surplus of 1.2 million uDraw units. According to the company, this resulted in a drop in sales of around 100 million US dollars due to unexpected shortfalls in sales and unplanned price reductions. As a result, it posted a loss of $ 56 million for the entire quarter. As a result, the group ran into serious financial problems. The value of the company's share had long since fallen below the minimum limit of $ 1, which is why THQ received the threat from the NASDAQ stock exchange regulator that it would be banned from trading should the value not be able to stabilize above one dollar over the long term. The company responded with a series of measures. On the one hand, the business area was reorganized and restricted to large-scale productions. The children's software division was discontinued, and THQ's publishing arm for casual and budget titles, ValuSoft, was sold. 240 employees in sales, management and administration were laid off, the sales offices in Japan, Italy and Spain closed, quality assurance in Phoenix, Arizona closed and merged with the facility in Montreal. Several senior managers have left the company and been replaced. The Supervisory Board also decided to forego 50% of his salary. By contrast, the development studios Relic Entertainment , Volition , Vigil Games and THQ Montreal were largely spared the drastic austerity measures .

The game Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium planned as an MMO was converted into a single-player title with a multiplayer component after the publisher could not find a partner to finance the project. As a result, 118 developers were laid off at the developers Relic Entertainment and Vigil Games. The UFC license was given to competitor Electronic Arts after the title UFC Undisputed 3 , published in February 2012, failed to reach the necessary breakeven point of two million units sold. In this context, the development studio THQ San Diego was finally closed in June 2012. The collaboration with Tomonobu Itagaki and Valhalla Games on the Devil's Third project was abandoned, in August 2012 THQ also announced the discontinuation of the Insane project at Volition and returned the rights to the game to director and production partner Guillermo del Toro . The company also decided not to be present at the E3 and Gamescom trade fairs . That as a separate add-on planned Saints Row: The Third - Enter the Dominatrix is set, the previously scheduled content as part of the new full-price title Saints Row IV announced. Finally, with a stock consolidation at a rate of 10: 1, the stock value above the required minimum value of 1 US dollar was achieved and the impending exclusion from the stock exchange was averted.

In its first quarterly report for the 2013 financial year on August 6, 2012, THQ was able to announce a profit for the first time.

Humble THQ Bundle

On November 13, 2012, THQ stated that it could not repay a $ 50 million Wells Fargo loan and was on the verge of bankruptcy . After the stock's value had dropped to $ 3 since early November and long-term debt had totaled $ 250 million, THQ was forced to postpone the preliminary release dates for the Company of Heroes 2 and Metro: Last Light flagships to March 2013. In an attempt to raise money, THQ entered into a partnership with the Humble Bundle and launched the Humble THQ Bundle on November 29, 2012 . As of December 12, 2012, nearly 800,000 bundles had been sold for approximately $ 5 million; THQ President Jason Rubin also bought a bundle for $ 11,050.

Bankruptcy and busting

On December 20, 2012, THQ filed for bankruptcy. Originally, THQ's day-to-day business was to be continued through the takeover of the Clearlake Capital Group . The creditors, however, objected to this takeover, which a court granted. At an auction on January 22, 2013, interested parties could bid for parts of the company. It turned out that the sum of the individual bids was higher than Clearlake's total offer. As a consequence, the group was broken up and subsequently sold piece by piece:

The developer studio Vigil Games and the Darksiders brand did not find any buyers . These went into the remaining bankruptcy estate, which is to be liquidated under Chapter 11 of US bankruptcy law . With the exception of a rump team for the settlement, all remaining employees were dismissed. The employees of the also dissolved developer Vigil Games were taken over by Crytek and founded the new studio Crytek USA.

The auction of the various license and trademark rights between April 1 and April 15, 2013 raised another seven million US dollars. Nordic Games acquired the rights to 150 titles, including the series Darksiders , Destroy All Humans! For a total of US $ 4.9 million ! , Full Spectrum Warrior , Juiced , MX vs. ATV , Red Faction , Summoner , the action role-playing game Titan Quest and the licensed products Marvel Super Hero Squad and Supreme Commander . Gearbox Software was awarded the contract for the real-time strategy series Homeworld for 1.35 million US dollars , while 505 Games acquired the titles Drawn to Life and Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter for 300,000 US dollars . The original publisher Interplay Entertainment secured the trademark rights to the space flight simulations Conflict: Freespace and Freespace 2 for US $ 7,500 in June .

In October 2013, THQ sued Electronic Arts , suspecting that EA was actively responsible for the UFC revoking THQ licenses for some games. The outcome of the lawsuit is open. In June 2014 Nordic Games announced that it had also acquired the brand name THQ and that it wanted to publish its games under this label in the future, as the company had not previously been able to build up sufficient awareness of its original name. In November 2014, Nordic Games finally also acquired the THQ series de Blob . On August 12, 2016, Nordic Games announced that they would be renaming themselves THQ Nordic and thus bring the old THQ brand back to life.

Studios

Cranky Pants Games

Cranky Pants Games , based in Kirkland (Washington), developed the Xbox games Red Faction and Summoner: A Goddess Reborn .

KAOS Studios

KAOS Studios, based in New York City , was bought by THQ in January 2005. The first game, Frontlines: Fuel of War , was released in late February 2008. In March 2011, the game Homefront was released . In June 2011 the studio was closed.

Rainbow Studios

Rainbow Studios , based in Phoenix (Arizona), developed the successful PlayStation 2 game ATV Offroad Fury and ATV Offroad Fury 2 , as well as the video game for the Pixar film Cars for all common game consoles. The studio also developed the Motocross Madness series for Microsoft .

Relic entertainment

Relic Entertainment, based in Vancouver , specializes in the genre of 3D real-time strategy as a developer. Some game series such as Homeworld , Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes were developed by Relic. In 2011 they launched the action game Warhammer 40k: Space Marine for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, aside from the strategy games .

Volition, Inc.

Volition, Inc. is a developer of games for consoles and Windows- based PCs. Volition is located in Champaign, Illinois . The company was founded when Parallax Software (developer of the Descent game series ) was split in two. The other half was the now closed Outrage Entertainment developed by Descent 3 and Alter Echo .

With Interplay as publisher, Volition developed the Freespace series. When Interplay went bankrupt, Volition was bought out by THQ. Since then, Volition has released some popular titles such as Red Faction , Red Faction II , Summoner , The Punisher and Saints Row for the Xbox 360 and PC. The company was then renamed Deep Silver Volition.

Other studios

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://investor.thq.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=96376&p=irol-reportsannual
  2. ↑ Nordic Games is now THQ Nordic and wants to revive 13 IPs. Retrieved August 26, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Embracer Group: New name for THQ Nordic AB. In: Games Economy. August 14, 2019, accessed September 22, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  5. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  7. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated February 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  8. ↑ http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169226/THQ_sells_off_casual_publisher_to_focus_on_core_franchises.php
  9. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated August 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  10. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  11. ↑ http://www.computerandvideogames.com/354423/thq-closes-spain-and-italy-publishing-divisions/
  12. ↑ http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/07/19/thq-consolidates-qa-teams-closes-arizona-facility.aspx
  13. ↑ http://gamasutra.com/view/news/171265/THQs_Bilson_steps_down_Naughty_Dog_cofounder_Jason_Rubin_becomes_president.php
  14. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  15. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  16. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  17. ↑ http://www.4players.de/4players.php/spielinfonews/Allgemein/3941/2103097/Electronic_ArtsSchnappt_sich_UFC-License.html
  18. ↑ http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/172036/THQ_sold_UFC_license_after_failing_to_break_even_on_it.php
  19. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  20. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  21. ↑ http://www.golem.de/news/thq-gewinn-rauf-del-toro-raus-1208-93682.html
  22. ↑ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-05-11-thq-wont-have-a-gamescom-booth
  23. ↑ http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/saints-row-the-third-enter-the-dominatrix/news/saints_row_the_third,48220,2569214.html
  24. ↑ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-07-02-thq-announces-reverse-stock-split
  25. ↑ http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-07-24-thq-avoids-nasdaq-delisting
  26. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  27. ^ THQ, Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) On the Verge of Bankruptcy . Gamer Daily News. November 13, 2012. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 1, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gamersdailynews.com
  28. ^ Anthony J. Agnello: Humble Bundle THQ sale raises over $ 2.3 million with help from CEO . Digital trends . November 30, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  29. ↑ Owen Good: Who was the Biggest Beneficiary of THQ's $ 5 Million Humble Bundle? . Kotaku. December 15, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  30. ^ HQ Inc. Secures Asset Purchase Agreement with Affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group, LP . THQ. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  31. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-nz1jybsRs
  32. ↑ Videogame maker THQ gets court approval for longer auction process , article on Reuters .com of January 8, 2013
  33. ↑ a b http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Spiele-Thema-239104/News/THQ-wird-zerschlagen-1045423/
  34. ↑ Sebastian Jäger: SEGA takes over Relic, Koch Media Volition and Metro, Ubisoft South Park * Update * . In: Gamona . Webguidez Entertainment. January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  35. ↑ Eddie Makuch: Crytek opens American studio ( English ) In: GameSpot . CBS Interactive . January 28, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  36. ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved on April 24, 2013.
  37. ↑ Interplay purchases Freespace IP from THQ and Volition for $ 7,500
  38. ↑ http://www.spieletipps.de/n_30343/
  39. ↑ http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/12/5805074/thq-trademark-acquired-nordic-games
  40. ↑ Nordic officially purchases de Blob series from THQ ( Memento of the original dated December 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  41. ↑ Nordic Games - Will revive 13 old THQ brands and become THQ Nordic. In: GameStar. August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2016 .
  42. ↑ http://www.fuelofwar.de/
  43. ↑ Kyle Orland: THQ Shutters UK Studio, Homefront Developer Kaos. In: Gamasutra.com. June 13, 2011, accessed July 23, 2011 .