Haven’t heard from THQ in a while? Miss the old Red Faction and Darksider days? well THQ seems to be back, but not in any way anyone might have contemplated. Nordic games just announced its own rebranding as THQ Nordic. Given THQ’s not-so-lucrative position recently, we’re not sure how viable of a business move this is, but it sure as hell is exciting.
Nordic games, the publisher based in Australia, which was involved in numerous retail deals for some amazing titles such as “Ori and the blind forest” and “Broken Age”, purchased two of THQ’s biggest game properties, namely Darksiders and Red Faction at the 2015 THQ auction. And yes, THQ was desperate enough to sell its own intellectual property to the highest bidder as a last resort move to save their drowning ship.
Nordic’s purchases included the THQ trademark, which now they’ve decided to decorate their own trademark with, for good.
The CEO of THQ Nordic, Lars Wingeforst, stated how much of a big deal this was for the company and how any and all future franchise acquirements will add to the company’s roster and play a key role in the company’s future.
He said:
While we take great pride in our Swedish roots and accomplished a great deal under the Nordic Games masthead, we decided it was time to incorporate the THQ name. Those key brands will continue to shape our business in a meaningful way going forward, and THQ Nordic represents a core approach of doing much more than owning a highly competitive portfolio of IP. We cherish them, and align them with the very best development resources to expand upon them with the level of experience that communities and established fan bases expect and deserve.
With this rebrand we are entering the next phase in our company’s evolution. As of now we have 23 game projects in development, 13 thereof have not yet been publicly announced but are sure to be in the next months. Needless to say, the majority of these projects are based on former THQ owned IPs and franchises.
The only confirmed plans as of now from THQ Nordic are the remasters of all previous Darksider titles for the next gen consoles. And a Darksider sequel seems inevitable at this point.
