According to this (http://www.kccllc.net/thq), THQ has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
I had heard for quite some time that THQ was in financial difficulties. Now it looks as though those financial difficulties have come to a head. I don't know what effect this will have on us gamers.
Game publishing is a rough business. Costs are fixed and ongoing while you never know how a game is going to be received.
They've had some decent games, but their last smash hit was Company of Heroes. Wasn't there a big boondoggle about Company of Heroes online?
What does this portend for CoH 2, I wonder? Have to admit, that is a game I really am looking forward to. Had no idea about the financial troubles...
Ah they can sell WH 40K rights to Sega!
I'm really looking forward to CoH 2 also... :/
Bankruptcy does not necessarily mean that the company will go out of business. It may result in some sold assets and what not but also allows them to remove some debt. I gotta think they know that CoH2 will be a big seller especially if it's done well.
City of Heroes? Is that a super hero mmo?
Quote from: MetalDog on December 19, 2012, 11:47:17 PM
City of Heroes? Is that a super hero mmo?
hehe company of heroes. city of heroes was just shut down though. shame, was one of the first mmo i played. yeah yeah i never played ultima online or everquest. did play some muds though!
Quote from: LongBlade on December 19, 2012, 08:00:30 PM
Game publishing is a rough business. Costs are fixed and ongoing while you never know how a game is going to be received.
They've had some decent games, but their last smash hit was Company of Heroes. Wasn't there a big boondoggle about Company of Heroes online?
Actually, they've had a number of 3 million + sellers. The Dawn of War series has done well, Saints Row 2 and 3, their WWE games for consoles, Red Faction Guerrilla and even Homefront were all big hits. Darksiders 1 and 2 and Metro 2033 all had solid sales, too.
The problems were bad expenditures. Their marketing spending was insane...they threw money at pushing Darksiders 2 with insane expectations that it would be some sort of 10 million selling mega hit. You know you done screwed up when 2 million sales is considered a flop. They overspent on licenses for kids properties while everyone else was pulling back on licensing fee payouts as that sector became less profitable. Oh, and then there was the debacle known as the UDraw (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/02/boom-to-bust-thqs-revolutionary-udraw-now-filling-warehouse-shelves/).
Their new President put up a statement (http://www.thq.com/us/go/article/view/homepage_article/261277/thq_community_message_from_jason_rubin) about where they go from here that's worth a read.
Either they pull out of their 2 year tailspin next year with Company of Heroes 2, Metro Last Light, the South Park RPG and 1666 (new property from Assassin's Creed creator) or this Clearlake Capital Group that's funding them rips them apart and sells the studios off piecemeal, which would still likely mean that devs like Relic and Volition would pretty easily find new homes in a new company that buys them up.
Is there a link for 1666?
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2012, 08:02:47 AM
Is there a link for 1666?
Only info I could find, but nothing real conclusive at all....
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/14/what-is-1666
Quote from: jomni on December 19, 2012, 08:33:39 PM
Ah they can sell WH 40K rights to Sega!
<<< This. To someone who'll put a wider use to it.
Fork it over, you bastids!
City of Heroes was NCSoft, wasn't it?
Quote from: Arctic Blast on December 20, 2012, 01:42:42 AM
The problems were bad expenditures. Their marketing spending was insane...they threw money at pushing Darksiders 2 with insane expectations that it would be some sort of 10 million selling mega hit. You know you done screwed up when 2 million sales is considered a flop. They overspent on licenses for kids properties while everyone else was pulling back on licensing fee payouts as that sector became less profitable. Oh, and then there was the debacle known as the UDraw
Either they pull out of their 2 year tailspin next year with Company of Heroes 2, Metro Last Light, the South Park RPG and 1666 (new property from Assassin's Creed creator) or this Clearlake Capital Group that's funding them rips them apart and sells the studios off piecemeal, which would still likely mean that devs like Relic and Volition would pretty easily find new homes in a new company that buys them up.
great post -- thanks for this insight --
I have to believe you're right that Relic etc. get by no matter what happens to THQ -- and that sounds like a stacked lineup THQ is coming out with in 2013. The dev. videos for COH2 on Steam look terrific -- this is not a project that looks like it's in danger of becoming vaporware.
anyway, i feel better now...
moved to tech talk
Thanks, Arctic.
Thanks for the update, Arctic Blast.
No problem. I'm a fan of a lot of THQ's games, so I've been following the downward spiral for the last year and a half or so. Luckily, the old management team has largely been tossed or sidelined.
I just learned that the THQI auction is set to begin on January 22nd and it will allow for piecemeal ("title by title") sales of THQ assets.
Source (https://twitter.com/DDInvesting/status/288376488573673472)
Yep, it seems the judge agreed with several of those owed money by THQ that they were pulling some shenanigans in their agreement with Clearlake.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/184395/THQ_denied_quick_bankruptcy_sale_in_wake_of_creditor_complaints.php#.UOu6JHfheWZ
A little more here about the complaints : http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/184327/THQs_creditors_cry_foul_over_Clearlake_plans.php#.UOu6V3fheWZ
Basically, THQ's execs tried to make a sweetheart deal with Clearlake during a holiday season that would make it difficult for other suitors to put a bid together.
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 08, 2013, 01:19:58 AM
Yep, it seems the judge agreed with several of those owed money by THQ that they were pulling some shenanigans in their agreement with Clearlake.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/184395/THQ_denied_quick_bankruptcy_sale_in_wake_of_creditor_complaints.php#.UOu6JHfheWZ
A little more here about the complaints : http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/184327/THQs_creditors_cry_foul_over_Clearlake_plans.php#.UOu6V3fheWZ
Basically, THQ's execs tried to make a sweetheart deal with Clearlake during a holiday season that would make it difficult for other suitors to put a bid together.
can we all chip in and buy the WH40K rights?
Good idea. I have 40.00. Anyone else in?
^ Ubi might have slightly deeper pockets than us: http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ubisoft-plots-thq-bid/0108645
Ok 41 dollars. You drive a hard bargain. The idea of Ubi Soft getting its DRM happy mitts on former THQ titles makes me queasy.
Will this affect the release of COH2?
Quote from: Shelldrake on January 08, 2013, 10:59:50 AM
Will this affect the release of COH2?
No idea. Probably depends on the state of the game and how much they paid for it.
Quote from: Shelldrake on January 08, 2013, 10:59:50 AM
Will this affect the release of COH2?
I wouldn't think so. It's pretty far along and the first game did quite well. COH2 is probably going to be one of the big 'gets'. Someone will grab up the South Park RPG. Metro Last Light is far enough along that it SHOULD be grabbed up, but who knows?
What nobody seems to know is if just individual properties are up, or if studios are on the block as well. I kind of hope the latter is the case, because I'm pretty certain Relic and Volition would be snapped up quite quickly. And THQ is done when this is over, anyway. I'd rather see them end up at an actually viable company rather than attached to a rotting corpse.
So, the THQ bidding war is well under way. Lots of rumors, but I guess it IS now confirmed that SEGA has purchased Relic (http://ejectdisk.com/thq-assets-purchases/). A few Relic employees have also tweeted that they now work for SEGA.
Probably the best place for them to end up. SEGA's a good publisher, and this should mean that Company of Heroes 2 isn't going to suffer any set backs. Also, this puts Warhammer Fantasy AND 40K with separate devs under the SEGA umbrella.
Rumors have Volition (Saints Row) going to Koch Media Germany, who publish the Sacred series and X series among others. Or they're at least 'in the lead' in terms of biggest auction bids.
UPDATE : Huh, apparently the whole thing is done now, as is THQ (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/01/23/thq-is-officially-dead-and-gone.aspx).
Quote
To All THQ Employees:
We now have the answers we've been seeking through our financial restructuring and Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction that occurred:
Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business, along with Clearlake's offer, and numerous offers for separate assets. During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority of the company.
Shortly, we will present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must concur with our assessment.
The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :
Sega agreed to purchase Relic
Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve and
Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park
We expect these sales to close this week.
Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.
What this means for employees
We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of your employment with THQ.
If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers.
We know you will have many questions about this news. We'll be meeting tomorrow when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.
A personal note
The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative, artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have accomplished despite today's outcome.
It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations.
For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you take the next steps in your career.
Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Brian Farrell
Chief Executive Officer
Jason Rubin
President
There was a lot of back and forth between South Park Studios and THQ over whether that license was even sale-able for THQ...not sure if that was settled, or Ubi decided to just roll the dice a bit and make a bid. I have no idea what Evolve is, so I'd have to imagine it was something in development. Crytek buying up the rights to Homefront makes sense : they do shooters well, and the first Homefront actually sold very well despite pretty middling reviews.
Great news, Arctic. Relic is a great company. I had no idea they had the kind of cash to buy SEGA.
Quote from: LongBlade on January 23, 2013, 03:35:35 PM
Great news, Arctic. Relic is a great company. I had no idea they had the kind of cash to buy SEGA.
Wrong way around. SEGA bought Relic. ;D The rumor is $15 million was the price at auction.
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 23, 2013, 03:37:39 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on January 23, 2013, 03:35:35 PM
Great news, Arctic. Relic is a great company. I had no idea they had the kind of cash to buy SEGA.
Wrong way around. SEGA bought Relic. ;D The rumor is $15 million was the price at auction.
Ah. Thanks. That makes more sense.
$15 mil? Is that all that's separating me from world domination? I guess I'd better start saving.
And now Kotaku has the winning bid prices (http://kotaku.com/5978425/thq-is-getting-sold-off-today++heres-everything-we-know) and runners up. Kind of interesting, actually.
QuoteRelic Entertainment
Makers of Company of Heroes
Winning bidder: Sega, $26.6 million.
Runner-up: Zenimax Media, $26.3 million.
THQ Montreal
Makers of 1666 and Underdog, titles under development.
Winning bidder: Ubisoft, $2.5 million. No runner-up.
Evolve
(title in development at Turtle Rock Studios)
Winning bidder: Take-Two Interactive, $10.894 million.
Runner-up: Turtle Rock Studios, $250,000.
Volition, Inc.
Maker of Saints Row
Winning bidder: Koch Media, $22,312,925.
Runner-up: Ubisoft, $5.4 million.
Homefront
Released 2011; due for a sequel.
Winning bidder: Crytek. $544,218.
No runner-up.
Metro
Series; due for the sequel Metro: Last Light.
Winning Bidder: Koch Media, $5,877,551
Runner-up: Ubisoft: $5.175 million.
South Park
License; South Park: The Stick of Truth is due for release March 5.
Winning bidder: Ubisoft, $3,265,306
No runner-up.
Wow, Relic was THISCLOSE to going to Zenimax (Bethesda and id)...that seems like a weird mix. The Metro game selling for that much seems like a positive to me : nobody is dropped almost $6 million for the rights to a game if they don't anticipate it doing well. Then again, whatever Evolve is going to be cost twice that much. Seems like Koch kind of got caught up in bidding against themselves, because they were waaayyyyyy ahead of everyone else. It also seems weird that an entire studio sold for less than any of the game rights.
Oh, and if you like Darksiders, there wasn't a single bid on either the license rights or Vigil, who developed them. So that series is quite possibly dead and gone.
Good point about Koch. They must have *really* wanted that Saints Row.
turtle rock studios had to bid for themselves - and seriously undervalued their product??
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 23, 2013, 04:08:40 PM
turtle rock studios had to bid for themselves - and seriously undervalued their product??
They're developing Evolve, but were doing so under contract with THQ with THQ publishing. So they tossed in a bid to try to completely own the game. I don't know what Evolve is, but that winning bid makes me very, very curious.
Huh, I didn't know that Turtle Rock did the first Left 4 Dead and Counter Strike : Source. Still no clue on what Evolve is, aside from the knowledge that it's a shooter and they're looking for developers with CryEngine experience.
its 10 million dollars worth of curious thats for sure!
thats a lot of units to ship
Thanks for the update, Arctic.
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 23, 2013, 03:37:39 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on January 23, 2013, 03:35:35 PM
Great news, Arctic. Relic is a great company. I had no idea they had the kind of cash to buy SEGA.
Wrong way around. SEGA bought Relic. ;D The rumor is $15 million was the price at auction.
LOL! ;D
Interesting (but not surprising) that Homefront was in the bargain bin category re bids. Hopefully Crytek can work some magic here.
Quote from: Shelldrake on January 24, 2013, 08:07:54 AM
Interesting (but not surprising) that Homefront was in the bargain bin category re bids. Hopefully Crytek can work some magic here.
Homefront wasn't bad. The campaign game did a good job of making the Norks look like terrible, oppressive tyrants. The problem was the multiplayer game just wasn't that great.
I spotted this image (http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/21529/thq-finally-dissolved-ubisoft-claims-south-park-the-stick-of-truth) and thought it would be appropriate here:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi49.tinypic.com%2F642ayr.jpg&hash=5ed99efbaa0d2c326097f222e623769aac6abd21)
R.I.P. THQ.
I also see that Atari is going into Chapter 11.
I feel very confident Crytek will do a good job with the Homefront sequel, assuming they bother to do so.
Relic going to Sega equals excessive win. Not least because Sega could stand to build their game portfolio back up some more. On the other hand, considering how close Sega has come to utterly botching their cash cow Total War the past several years, I have to say I hope they give Relic the purse to do whatever they want and leave them alone.
When
Jarhead and the other WH40k'ers realize the 40,000 license and Total War franchise are now under the same umbrella, the world may go deaf from the collective squeeing.
Quote from: ArizonaTank on January 24, 2013, 03:32:52 PM
I also see that Atari is going into Chapter 11.
I read that a couple days ago as well. Sad news, but not surprising, given how poorly they've done the last decade.
Quote from: JasonPratt on January 24, 2013, 04:08:17 PM
I feel very confident Crytek will do a good job with the Homefront sequel, assuming they bother to do so.
Relic going to Sega equals excessive win. Not least because Sega could stand to build their game portfolio back up some more. On the other hand, considering how close Sega has come to utterly botching their cash cow Total War the past several years, I have to say I hope they give Relic the purse to do whatever they want and leave them alone.
Crytek was actually already developing Homefront 2 for THQ, so this just gives them absolute ownership over it.
Quote from: MartokWhen Jarhead and the other WH40k'ers realize the 40,000 license and Total War franchise are now under the same umbrella, the world may go deaf from the collective squeeing.
Except that nobody is sure Relic still has it. Games Workshop tends to keep a tight grip in license agreements, and there's a good chance that as soon as Relic shifted owners that the license went bye bye. Of course, since SEGA (and Creative Assembly specifically) just got the WH Fantasy license and Relic has done well with the 40K license, I'd imagine getting it back would be a formality. But then, if Relic has the 40K license that doesn't mean that Creative Assembly can use it.
Quote from: ArizonaTankI also see that Atari is going into Chapter 11.
Yeah, not really a shocker. Just try this exercise : Name 3 games that Atari has published in the past 5 years without looking around online.
Quote from: JasonPratt on January 24, 2013, 04:08:17 PM
On the other hand, considering how close Sega has come to utterly botching their cash cow Total War the past several years, I have to say I hope they give Relic the purse to do whatever they want and leave them alone.
????
It seems like the Total War series has been doing as well, and probably better, as it always has regarding sales. What makes you say they've nearly botched it?
A new Homeworld? Please, take my money now
http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2013/01/savehomeworld-com-a-cause-for-the-homeworld-franchise/
I wouldn't pledge to that with someone else's money.
Some group whose entire history seems to be creating a couple of websites is going to end up with the rights to a game. they're then going to magically create a version of it for touch screens. Oh, and what the Hell, let's have them develop a sequel as well!
I can't possibly see how this could all go wrong...
Anyway, Relic was interested enough to get THQ to re-acquire the rights before. I suspect they wouldn't have done so unless they had some ideas. I also suspect they'll probably get SEGA to throw a bid in on it again. Apparently there's still another auction due up for old IP rights.
Quote from: Kushan on January 25, 2013, 08:50:31 PM
A new Homeworld? Please, take my money now
http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2013/01/savehomeworld-com-a-cause-for-the-homeworld-franchise/
I'm with
AC. This sounds like a bad, bad idea.
Well, 6 lots of remaining THQ properties were put up for auction (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130226007090/en/THQ-Sell-Remaining-Intellectual-Properties) a few days ago. It runs until April, at which point winning bidders get their stuff.
Lot 1 - Red Faction
Lot 2 - Homeworld
Lot 3 - MX series
Lot 4 - Darksiders
Lot 5 - Destroy All Humans, Full Spectrum Warrior, Frontlines, Titan Quest and a bunch of stuff I've never heard of
Lot 6 - Costume Quest, Stacking, Supreme Commander, Worms and a bunch of other stuff I've never heard of
I wouldn't be surprised if the 5th and 6th lots get very little interest...they seem like "What's left? Okay, toss that crap in to one big package!" sort of properties. Maybe Double Fine ends up with #6 to gain full ownership of CQ and Stacking, but aside from that...meh. Lot 3 seems to be pretty similar. A few smaller devs have made a few statements about looking at Darksiders. I'd imagine SEGA will try to grab Homeworld, assuming Relic still has any interest in it. I don't know what happens with Red Faction. I'd love to see a reputable shooter developer like Crytek end up with it, though.
Also, the Company of Heroes 2 forums saw the Global Admin/Producer show up to post (http://community.companyofheroes.com/forums/community-news-feed/topics/Letters-from-the-Producer-3-SEGA) :
QuoteDear CoH Community,
Welcome to the latest Company of Heroes 2 "Letter from the Producer!" As you know, a lot has happened since we last spoke. The bankruptcy of THQ has brought big changes to a family we were part of for almost 10 years and we wish all the best for the future to all of our former colleagues!
Looking to our own future, I must admit that the studio as a whole is incredibly stoked to be working alongside a publisher with a heritage as strong as SEGA's. Shortly after the acquisition was announced, work on integrating the entire Relic team began. It's been a rapid transition period and I'm happy to say we're a pretty much fully functioning member of the SEGA family now and remain fully focused on shipping the highest quality version of Company of Heroes 2 you have all been waiting for.
Right now we're working towards bringing you the closed beta build which we'll be able to talk more to you about soon. You can find out how to get involved when the time comes on our Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to like and follow us there for the latest details.
Hope this answers a few questions. I'll keep a look out for more hot topics, so keep up the discussions and hope to see you online soon! Please rest assured that as we get out of this transition phase we will be much more communicative regarding our status and upcoming plans. 2013 will be a great year for us!
Cheers,
Greg Wilson
Producer – Company of Heroes 2
This is of course followed by 5 pages of whiny nonsense as gamers again display their overall maturity level... ::)
The auctions are over. Most results won't be known until next month, but the company who bought the rights to the Homeworld IP went public, and that company is...
Gearbox (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/190985/Gearbox_Software_has_acquired_the_Homeworld_franchise.php). Seems like a bit of a strange fit, but I guess we'll see. At the very least, they want to get HW 1 & 2 available on digital distro as soon as they can.
Stardock had previously announced that they were the runner up, and Paradox mentioned that they were third.