THQ file for Bankruptcy, No mention of 40K (or Dark Millenium) under their sale

[DrLove42]

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-13705-THQ-Files-For-Bankrupcy--Unannounced-Games-Revealed.html

THQ have filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

They claim its not the end of them, but are selling all their IP's and studios

There is no mention of 40K, or any projects, amongst their current work, which would suggest earlier rumours, that Dark Millenium was canned were true

Its a shame. in addition to 40K, THQ make a lot of great games, like Saints Row and Red Faction Guerilla. They also make some complete ****e, like Homefront and Red Faction Armageddon

[Mr Mystery]

Blimey.

Though I guess that they are only leasing the 40k IP means they aren't able to sell it on? I dunno, I'm just an oik having a stab in the dark.

[Kawauso]

It would make sense for them to try and sell off their licenses/assets wherever possible, meaning it could be that all those lovely art assets from DM won't go to waste (provided ditching the license works out with GW and all that).

However it would also make sense not to screw the pooch so bad you run a company like THQ into the ground, so, who knows. =/ Also that this is somehow "not the end" for them is amusing.

[Psychosplodge]

I think GW write in that their IP can't be re-sold don't they? Isn't that why it took so long to get the space marine movie after bloodquest fell through?

[Wolfshade]

Interestingly from: http://www.kccllc.net/documents/8826100/8826100121219000000000002.pdf

THQ do not own the license of 40k, instead it is merely leased to THQ from Games Workshop.

Relic the studio who makes the 40k games is currently making Company of Heroes 2 due in 2013 and a game merely called "Atlas" due in 2014, whether that is a project name or the product name is unclear, but certainly there is no explicit mention of a 40k game in development.

Reasons for the filling:
* Decline in the traditional childrens/movie games
* Overestimation of the uDraw market

There are a couple of things to note, this is a chapter 11 filling so they can continue in operation, a number of other firms are and have been operating like this for some time, and a number of times they go into and out of chapter 11.

The other thing is as THQ do not own the license it makes it easier to redeploy, whereas where an entity owns the licesnse and goes belly up it is much harder like Interplay owning the widely popular Star Trek Birth of the Federation and other such licences.

[DrLove42]

I figured they couldn't sell the 40K liscence on

But its interesting that Dark Millenium, a game 2-3 years into development isn't listed as anything any of their studios are working on. Its possible some of the codenames are it in disguise, but why hide it?

[Wolfshade]

It could be that DM has just been shelved/abandoned so it is not "in production".

I would imagine that they would use the product titles in order to make them seem more appealing, either that or by using code names they can stave off other intereseted parties as they want their stalking horse, no idea.

[Defenestratus]

My buddy's company was owed $20,000 USD by THQ. When I read the news about the chapter 11 yesterday, I emailed him about it and he said "We got the check last week - cashed that bad boy REAL quick."

[Blusox69]

I wonder if Creative will go for the 40K license then and add it to the WHFB one and hopefully bring out a Total War style version of Epic

Total War: Final Liberation 2

:-)

[RGilbert26]

What was the cheque for?

[Kawauso]

I wonder if Creative will go for the 40K license then and add it to the WHFB one and hopefully bring out a Total War style version of Epic
:-)

Would be nice to see a game deliver W40k battles on the scale we've seen in the artwork.

[Psychosplodge]

what was the cheque for?

$20,000us

[Bigred]

It is usual for license agreements to be non-transferrable for the protection of the IP's owner.

So for example if you were Disney and licensed Star Wars to Electronic Arts, you would put in a non-transferability restriction in the contract, so EA couldn't sell the licence to some no-name Chinese software developer who could then make crap games for several years (damaging the Star Wars brand).

Usually such contracts will have the license revert to the IP holder in cases of bankruptcy. I would expect the licence to revert to GW's control once the bankruptcy goes through and they can re-license it at will.

[Defenestratus]

What was the cheque for?

Not sure I should make that public knowledge since I donno if its covered by NDA.

Basically, its a very specialized piece of software that is use across the gaming industry that makes the end user experience a lot more life-like.

[jimmehmaca]

So for example if you were Disney and licensed Star Wars to Electronic Arts, you would put in a non-transferability restriction in the contract, so EA couldn't sell the licence to some no-name Chinese software developer who could then make crap games for several years (damaging the Star Wars brand).

Not sure Lucas needs any help damaging the Star Wars brand ;)

[DarkLink]

Well, he certainly has made it such that anytime anyone mentions star wars, nerd-hipsters pop out of the woodwork *****ing about JarJar. That on its own is annoying enough to hate Lucas. He doesn't mind, though. For all the whining out there, Lucas probably has a tower full of gold coins he can swim in, like Scrooge McDuck. The hatedom might be vocal, but in the end you can't argue with success.

[ElectricPaladin]

...in the end you can't argue with success.

You know? This saying always annoyed me. You can very well argue with success.

*Ahem*

I don't care how successful this thing was - even though it made a lot of money, I thought it was cr@p for this reason, that reason, and the other reason. Lots of cr@ppy things make money, and this was one of them. My opinion is entirely valid, and potentially supported with various arguments. Etcetera etcetera etcetera.

Or, alternately, this thing was really cool and it's a shame that it never made a lot of money. Let me show it to you, and we can talk about some of the under-appreciated nuances, and the source material, and the context. There, isn't that neater than you originally thought it was? No? Oh, well. That's still my opinion, and it's also supported by various arguments.

There, I just argued with success.

[Subexarch]

And lost it would seem....twice. =P

[ElectricPaladin]

And lost it would seem....twice. =P

See, I don't get that. Why is the amount of money something makes automatically the be-all, end-all judgment of its actual artistic value? It's certainly a reflection of something. Nothing makes money for no reason at all. I just don't get why "it made a ton of money" or "it never made money" should be the end of the discussion. It's a factor, sure, but not the only factor.

[Wolfshade]

See, I don't get that. Why is the amount of money something makes automatically the be-all, end-all judgment of its actual artistic value? It's certainly a reflection of something. Nothing makes money for no reason at all. I just don't get why "it made a ton of money" or "it never made money" should be the end of the discussion. It's a factor, sure, but not the only factor.

Certainly, how often are artists not recognised in their own life time.

[Psychosplodge]

Well, he certainly has made it such that anytime anyone mentions star wars, nerd-hipsters pop out of the woodwork *****ing about JarJar. That on its own is annoying enough to hate Lucas. He doesn't mind, though. For all the whining out there, Lucas probably has a tower full of gold coins he can swim in, like Scrooge McDuck. The hatedom might be vocal, but in the end you can't argue with success.

I'm not a hipster just because I hate the prequels, I simply had a lot as a fan, and money, invested in the EU that existed prior to the prequels sh!tting all over them...

[Uncle Nutsy]

Basically, its a very specialized piece of software that is use across the gaming industry that makes the end user experience a lot more life-like.

I'm just guessing here but, that's either the Havok engine or PhysX.

[DarkLink]

I wasn't saying you aren't allowed to dislike the movies. I was just saying that it doesn't make sense to claim that Lucas has been bad for the success of the series, since, well, it's really, really, really successful even after the sequels came out. While you, specifically, might not like the new Star Wars, the prequels still made a ton of money, and for all the complaints of JarJar and the like (which I still find laughable after watching the Ewoks or C3PO's constant whining in the originals) the vast majority of people still like the movies enough to buy them and go to the theaters and buy merchandise and video games and all sorts of stuff.


I'm not a hipster just because I hate the prequels, I simply had a lot as a fan, and money, invested in the EU that existed prior to the prequels sh!tting all over them...

I was specifically referring to jimmehmaca's comment, and not even the fact that he disliked the movies, as I mention above.

[fuzzbuket]

kotaku had a artical on the subject of DMO, THQ is being sorta odd about it.

[Psychosplodge]

I wasn't saying you aren't allowed to dislike the movies. I was just saying that it doesn't make sense to claim that Lucas has been bad for the success of the series, since, well, it's really, really, really successful even after the sequels came out. While you, specifically, might not like the new Star Wars, the prequels still made a ton of money, and for all the complaints of JarJar and the like (which I still find laughable after watching the Ewoks or C3PO's constant whining in the originals) the vast majority of people still like the movies enough to buy them and go to the theaters and buy merchandise and video games and all sorts of stuff.
I was specifically referring to jimmehmaca's comment, and not even the fact that he disliked the movies, as I mention above.

Fair enough, You can't really argue that they haven't been successful, you can argue about if they live up to the hype...

[eldargal]

They were never going to live up to the hype though, you had a whole generation of geeks who had almost literally turned Star Wars into a religion.

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah, but they could have followed existing fiction, considering he was happy to make the money off the published works.

[eldargal]

I can understand why he wanted to maintain control of the background rather than share creative control with lots of different authors. It's sad but it's always a risk with EU style things. I imagine the new films will invalidate a lot of the EU as well, just treat it as an alternate universe or something. It's not like it really takes away the enjoyment of reading a good book.

[Psychosplodge]

They probably will, but it'd be nice if they made the Heir to the Empire trilogy...

[Adra]

Basically, its a very specialized piece of software that is use across the gaming industry that makes the end user experience a lot more life-like.

Groin manipulation app.

[Fizzybubela]

There's a rumour that Ubisoft is going to buy THQ.

[eldargal]

Well that could be nifty...

[Fizzybubela]

It would be cool if there was a game like Assassins Creed where you're an Eldar.

[jimmehmaca]

I was specifically referring to jimmehmaca's comment, and not even the fact that he disliked the movies, as I mention above.

My comment was a joke an off the cuff remark. I thought it would have been clear by adding a winky smiley at the end. I am not Nerd-hipster by a long way.
This is why I hate coming on forums its to easy to be misunderstood.
So with that I will go back to reading from the shadows.

[Uncle Nutsy]

Ubisoft? oh god, I can just see what happens when Ubisoft sticks their nose into THQ's games.

"must always be connected to the internet to play the single-player portions" ... "must have intrusive and kludgy DRM attached to everything"


sure, they say they "scrapped" their always-on DRM.. but I don't trust them.

[AdamHarry]

There's a rumour that Ubisoft is going to buy THQ.

http://kotaku.com/5969994/thqs-boss-explains-in-plain-english-what-the-hell-happened-to-his-company-today?tag=thq

according to this press release, "a private equity firm named Clearlake Capital Group" is interested in purchasing THQ. I saw no mention of Ubisoft.

[AdamHarry]

Also, Kotaku has a pretty good summation of what has been going down:
http://kotaku.com/thq/

Also, the MMO has been dead since January of last year when THQ and their subsidiary Vigil drop all development for it and shifted its gears to Darksiders II which was scheduled for release in 2012.
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2012/01/breaking-is-warhammer-40k-mmo-dead.html

Here is our article about the staff cut as well:
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2012/03/thq-so-about-that-warhammer-40000-mmo.html

So basically, THQ is hurting. Steam sale for there games is going on. I play them and do enjoy most of their games. It is unfortunate.

[Fizzybubela]

http://kotaku.com/5969994/thqs-boss-explains-in-plain-english-what-the-hell-happened-to-his-company-today?tag=thq

according to this press release, "a private equity firm named Clearlake Capital Group" is interested in purchasing THQ. I saw no mention of Ubisoft.
I saw a video on Machinima saying something about it.

[Psychosplodge]

There's a rumour that Ubisoft is going to buy THQ.


Ubisoft? oh god, I can just see what happens when Ubisoft sticks their nose into THQ's games.

"must always be connected to the internet to play the single-player portions" ... "must have intrusive and kludgy DRM attached to everything"


sure, they say they "scrapped" their always-on DRM.. but I don't trust them.

^this
the company that hates PC gamers purchasing a company that's been good for the pc for the last few years....

[AdamHarry]

Hey guys and gals,

Just a quick follow-up:
http://kotaku.com/5973090/creditors-call-thqs-bankruptcy-deal-rigged-want-it-stopped

Still no mention of Ubisoft.
The creditors allege THQ and the private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group have rigged the sale ...


Apparently the creditors are unhappy because THQ and Clearlake pushed this deal through during the Week of Xmas and did some things with the bidding process that I don't understand (bankruptcy law: it's wordy) but basically they have setup a deal that looks more like a buy out than a bankruptcy claim.

[Wolfshade]

Yes, it seems strange that Clearlake will be awarded $2.25m if they fail "win" the bid

[AdamHarry]

Yes, it seems strange that Clearlake will be awarded $2.25m if they fail "win" the bid


New update on this on going story. Apparently Warner Bros. is interested in purchasing THQ:
http://kotaku.com/5973378/report-warner-bros-interactive-interested-in-bidding-on-thqs-assets

This...this is getting interesting.
On a side note, while I am hopeful about the Warner Bros. thing, that would most likely kill any future warhammer related releases from THQ. GW has a hard time letting go creatively and I don't think Warner Bros. would spend the resources (time and money) to wait around for GW approval on everything in a game. Also, I'm not sure how licenses for games based on 3rd party IP would be effected by a buyout. Maybe WB gets a hold of THQ and their IP, but they don't get the 3rd party IP (Warhammer and probably the WWE games), I dunno. But I'll keep posting updates.

[Wolfshade]

I agree with regards to WB. Didn't they get in trouble with Harry Potter for using their license in an unauthorised way a while back.

Or was it Lord of the Rings..?

[Psychosplodge]

LOTR iirc, someone told me they'd encroached on the sermillion which they don't have the rights to?

[Wolfshade]

The one I was thinking of was them was making LoTR slot machines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9691457/Tolkien-Estate-sues-over-Lord-of-the-Rings-slot-machines.html

[Psychosplodge]

Fair enough, does that mean that they can't offer DLC for games then?

[Wolfshade]

I imagine that the license terms would be different as it could potential stop patches being offered as they are non-tangible. So they will prbably be allowed to offer electronic products just within a certain scope, after all I don't want to see Blood Raven Black Jack or some such

[Psychosplodge]

But they generally give patches away so would it still apply?

[Wolfshade]

Strictly speaking it is a non-tangible asset so the mere production of it is what causes the issue with the licence. But as I say for games where they are often sold as purely electronic data (rahter than a physical disc) it would make sense that terms of the license would be different. After all, knowing how tight GW controls their IP I would imagine that anything that is not within the game would be unauthorised usage.

[Wolfshade]

Further update:

The publisher's creditors objections agains the quick wholesale of THQ have been upheld by a fedral judge and so the company will be sold off peicemeal on 22nd January

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/08/thqs-franchises-and-studios-to-be-auctioned-off-on-a-title-by-title-basis/

[Wolfshade]

Well it is done, sega got it.

Some thoughts of Warhammer:Total War from pcgamer.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/15/what-we-want-to-see-from-the-creative-assembly-warhammer-game/

[Psychosplodge]

Well it is done, sega got it.

Some thoughts of Warhammer:Total War from pcgamer.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/15/what-we-want-to-see-from-the-creative-assembly-warhammer-game/

He’s the angry, fighty embodiment of a heavy metal album cover

best quote ever

[Wildeybeast]

Mordheim meets XCOM!? That would be the greatest thing ever! Though I'd settle for Shadow of the Horny Rat with today's graphics.

[Psychosplodge]

A ordheim game would be interesting.

The management side could be epic too, various bars to find quests and your own hovel to manage...

[Wolfshade]

That would be good as all mordheim factions would need a common currency/resource to build and develop