After a bit of a lull, THQ Nordic is back at bringing game development studios into its fold. Today, with the release of its latest financial report, THQ Nordic announced it has acquired two more studios and also confirmed a brand new Saints Row game is in development, among other announcements.
The architects behind the Darksiders series, Gunfire Games, is the latest studio to join THQ Nordic, with the publisher gaining the entire 63-strong development team in Austin, Texas as well as all of the IP rights the studio had access to.
Gunfire Games CEO David Adams said the following regarding the move:
“Having worked together on the development of Darksiders, we are confident that becoming part of THQ Nordic is a great next step for Gunfire. I believe that the experience and publishing capabilities of THQ Nordic will be important in supporting our growth journey and enabling us to continue doing what we love – making great games. We are excited to continue working together going forward.”
The Italian developer Milestone has also joined THQ Nordic"s ranks. The studio has been responsible for a number of racing series based off of real-world championships such as MotoGP, FIA WRC, and MXGP.
This is what Milestone CEO Luisa Bixio said about this acquisition:
“As one of the leading companies in the racing games industry, we have assembled an experienced team and a large and growing portfolio of titles that we believe will fit perfectly with, and benefit from, THQ Nordic’s network of development studios and publishing capabilities. We are very happy to become part of THQ Nordic and look forward to continuing our growth journey together”
Meanwhile, the Saints Row series is coming back with Volition once again at its helm. THQ Nordic confirmed the return in its financials report saying the studio is currently "deep in development". The main series has been on ice since Saints Row IV"s launch in 2013, although a standalone expansion and a spin-off did arrive in the following years.
The long-time-coming sequel to Dead Island was also mentioned in the report, where Dambuster Studios - makers of Homefront: The Revolution - has taken over the reins from Sumo Digital. This is the second time Dead Island 2 has had a studio switch, as Sumo Digital itself took over development duties from Yager in 2016.
THQ Nordic added it now has 81 games in development, with 47 of them still unannounced. To name a few, we already know of Darksiders Genesis, Destroy All Humans! remake, and Desperados III among its confirmed titles. A new Red Faction title could also be under development. We will have to wait until gamescom next week to find out what the publisher has to show off this time.