THQ announces strategic realignment

THQ has announced a “strategic realignment” of its internal developers, straying away from licensed kids titles and movie-based entertainment properties, dropping pursuit of its MX vs. ATV franchise, and shuttering two Australian studios as a result.

Blue Tongue Entertainment, developer of the de Blob series, and THQ Studio Australia, developer of several licensed kids titles, are the two studios affected.

Now, with five internal development studios, THQ is focused on “key initiatives and franchises.” THQ Monreal, lead by Assassin’s Creed veteran Patric Desilets, is developing an unannounced new IP; Volition is working on Saints Row: The Third and Guillermo del Toro’s inSANE; Relic Entertainment is putting the finishing touches on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine; Vigil Games is working on Darksiders II and the MMO Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millenium Online; and THQ San Diego is the company’s “best-in-class” fighting game developer.

“With this realignment, we are narrowing our focus to high-quality owned IP with broad appeal that can be leveraged across multiple platforms, and to work with the best talent in the industry. By right-sizing our internal development capacities for our console portfolio, our five internal studios are focused on delivering high-quality games with talented teams driving the execution of those titles to market,” said Brian Farrell, President and CEO, THQ. “As we have outlined in our business strategies, we are making shifts to reduce movie-based and licensed kids’ video games in our portfolio, which underscores our strategy to move away from games that will not generate strong profits in the future.”

A relaunch of THQ.com is planned for the near future. Stay tuned for that.