THQ Auctions Off Remaining IPs

[Timothy Chang]

THQ Auctions Off Remaining IPs

The company expects a "vigorous" sale for its remaining franchises, such as Darksiders and Homeworld.

Since they will be sold separately [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121188-THQ-Files-For-Chapter-11-Bankruptcy]. Now, it looks like the sale is happening: THQ has announced that it will be auctioning off the rights to its remaining franchises to the highest bidder.

A THQ press release announces that several assets are available for bidding, including a number of major franchises such as Darksiders, Homeworld, and Red Faction. The company intends to complete the court-supervised sales for the remaining IPs by mid-May of this year.

THQ has designated six separate groups of titles for bidding:

Red Faction and its three sequels
Homeworld and Homeworld 2
MX vs. ATV, consisting of eight titles
Darksiders and Darksiders 2
Other software owned by THQ, consisting of 40 titles including Destroy All Humans!, Titan Quest, and uDraw
Software licensed by THQ, consisting of 36 titles including Worms, Nexuiz and Supreme Commander


Once you've proven to THQ you're financially capable of joining in the sale, your bids for any of these lots need to be in by April 1, with final bidding cut off by April 15. Once the winning bid and backup offer are determined, THQ and the creditors committee will present the sales to Court for final approval.

THQ claims to have received "more than 100 expressions of interest in purchasing various titles", and is expecting a "vigorous" sale for its remaining intellectual assets.


Source: Press Release via Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/26/darksiders-homeworld-red-faction-and-other-ips-next-on-thq-auc/]

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[Jandau]

Well, one good thing that might happen is a new Homeworld game. I mean, if someone puts up money for it, they'll likely want to put it to some use, and THQ seems to have been content to sit on the franchise and do nothing with it for the past 10 years.

See THQ, maybe if you didn't toss away so much money on crap like uDraw and put out more games in your good franchises, you wouldn't have gone under...

 

[CriticalMiss]

Someone better get those Worms right and keep Team 17 eating hot meals. My bid is [pocket rummage] lets see [/pocket rummage] £18.23 and a biro. I'll throw in some cotton buds (unused) and an altoids tin full of nail clippings if that sweetens the deal.

I'd be suprised if Darksiders doesn't go for a decent price. There are at least two more games in the franchise if I've been counting my apocalyptic horsepersons correctly and the previous games weren't too shabby. I guess we have to wait until April to see what will come of things.

 

[Eleuthera]

Though I'm not overly fond of Homeworld, my friends are. And I'd like for these guys [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121689-Indie-Developer-Tries-to-Salvage-Homeworld-From-THQ] to manage to snap the IP up

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Sega, grab Homeworld and throw it to Relic.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I'll give you a tenner for the rights to Destroy All Humans! That was a fun game.

Maybe this sale will mean we'll see some action out of these old IPs.

Though even I wouldn't want to buy the rights to uDraw. They'd have to pay me. I've seen those things sell for $5, and it was a big factor in tanking the company.

 

[1337mokro]

Actually.

If they don't get bought. Does this mean they enter public property? Wouldn't that be a good thing? If everyone could make awesome games using these IP's as a basis?

Oh who am I kidding of course not. The evil empire of the Mouse made sure that could never happen again. Gotta make the moneys.

 

[piinyouri]

TITAN QUEST!

Someone pick that up and USE IT FOR THE LOVE OF THE MAKER.

Also wouldn't mind a new Destroy All Humans game. They've all been fun, solid little games.

 

[FEichinger]

Actually.

If they don't get bought. Does this mean they enter public property? Wouldn't that be a good thing? If everyone could make awesome games using these IP's as a basis?

Oh who am I kidding of course not. The evil empire of the Mouse made sure that could never happen again. Gotta make the moneys.

They will get bought. If noone puts up a reasonable offer, EA or Actizzard will come in and go "TROLOLOLOLOLOLOL 10$!". Goodbye, Franchise #214563462758465352421 killed by them.

 

[sethisjimmy]

uDraw is up for grabs? I'm sure that'll fetch a high price

It'd probably be easier to retire it completely seeing as it's practically symbolic of shutting an entire corporation down...

 

[Andy Shandy]

Come on Platinum, pick up Darksiders. You know you want to! You even expressed interest in it last month.

And Red Faction? Seems logical to give it to DICE, they're the ones with that showed off the destruction with Battlefield, aren't they? Although it does mean it would take even longer for a new Mirrors' Edge :/

 

[lancar]

Darksiders and Homeworld are the only two franchises here I give a shit about, tbh.
Well, and maybe Red Faction to a degree. It was pretty ok, and could become much better in the right hands.

As a fan of the original Total Annihilation I found Supreme Commander to be pretty good, but the series went down the "simplify and streamline" route and that, imho, sucked all the fun out of it. It was the last RTS series I played before I pretty much gave up on the genre and moved to RPGs which, while often very streamlined, told much better stories to compensate.

 

[Yellowfish]

The company that made Titan Quest isn't around anymore IIRC, so I guess I don't care much about who exactly buys it.

I really hope Sega buys Homeworld. Relic is the only developer that can be trusted with the IP. They created the franchise in the first place, and they are the only major RTS developer left in the industry.

Don't care much about anything else on the list, but here's hoping that worthy IPs will find owners whose heads aren't stuffed up their asses.

 

[Vie]

Oh man, now I'm picturing Valve making Homeworld 3... ..oh wait, it's got a three in the title.

Arse.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Some1 revive Homeworld!

Dear god i thought Activision had owned that franchise when Relic didn't have the license... But to see it show up here in THQ's auction, WOOOOOO!

 

[tmande2nd]

UP next:
EA BUYS OUT HOMEWORLD AND TURNS IT INTO A FPS WITH TACKED ON MULTIPLAYER!

Search your feelings you know it o be true.

 

[kajinking]

God I hope someone decent buys up Supcom and destroy all humans both are in serious need of a reboot. Honestly imagine destroy all humans with a decent budget and started from scratch again.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

Darksiders and Homeworld are the only two franchises here I give a shit about, tbh.
Well, and maybe Red Faction to a degree. It was pretty ok, and could become much better in the right hands.

As a fan of the original Total Annihilation I found Supreme Commander to be pretty good, but the series went down the "simplify and streamline" route and that, imho, sucked all the fun out of it. It was the last RTS series I played before I pretty much gave up on the genre and moved to RPGs which, while often very streamlined, told much better stories to compensate.

check out planetary annihilation, made by the same guys that did TA and SC.

I do hope that Darksiders and Homeworld find a decent home that will not just let the IP collect dust.

 

[synobal]

It would be neat if Runic Games could pick up Titian Quest.

 

[Norrdicus]

The company that made Titan Quest isn't around anymore IIRC, so I guess I don't care much about who exactly buys it.

Well actually, they are around in a sense as Crate Entertainment.

They're the ones making Grim Dawn, which is "Titan Quest With Lovecraft". They posted the first bit of artwork on the TQ forums right around when Iron Lore went under