THQ dissected at auction

The sounding of an auctioneers’ gavel signals the end of financially crippled publisher with most studios and projects finding shelter under new roofs, according to a letter sent out to employees.

Unearthed by Kotaku, the letter reveals that Company of Heroes and Dawn of War RTS-makers Relic has been taken in by Sega, while Koch Media snapped up studio Volition, makers of GTA-competitor Saint’s Row, and THQ's Metro series.

In what could have legal complications down the line, Ubisoft bought off South Park as well as THQ Montreal, while Take 2 purchased the unrevealed title Evolve.

This comes after the company was forced to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy and seek a solution to its financial woes if it were to consider carrying on.

“Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business… and numerous offers for separate assets,” Brian Farrell, THQ CEO told employees.

“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.”

He assured employees that most of them would survive the transition and be offered work by the new owners of their projects or studios.

Despite the majority of divisions finding a new home, Darksiders’ Vigil Games was not mentioned, casting the future of the series and studio into doubt.

He concluded: “While the company will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership.”

James Lee

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James Lee is a freelance writer and analyst with extensive experience in the technology, media and games sectors. For the past few years he has provided content for internationally published industry reports, SEO companies and a variety of news-focused websites. Prior to this, James was responsible for covering news and producing in-depth features for GamesIndustry.biz while occasionally contributing to its sister-site. Eurogamer.net. In addition to this he has contributed to other notable sites such as CVG.co.uk, Edge-Online and DigitalSpy.