Over the weekend rumours emerged, via a particularly ‘chatty’ industry executive, that THQ was not only preparing itself for acquisition, but also that all their games being prepped for a 2014 release had been subsequently put on hold.
Today those rumours have been denied via an official statement from THQ, sent to MCV.
“As part of the ongoing review of our business, we have made decisions to ensure that the company is strategically addressing the most attractive markets,” stated THQ’s executive vice president of global publishing, Ian Curran.
“As we have previously announced, we have dramatically reduced our commitment to the kids’ boxed games sector which leads to a significantly more focused release schedule moving forward.”
“Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business. We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry.”
Rumours surrounding THQ being aggressively acquired by a host of different parties, including competing publishers, have permeated industry chatter since 2008. Yet four years on there has been no big-money move and from the language used in this statement it seems that fact won’t change in the foreseeable future.
“Additionally, we are thrilled with the great performance of Saints Row: The Third, which on a like for like period in North America has tripled in sell-through from Saints Row 2. In addition, WWE ’12′s worldwide sell-through sales are up almost 40% year-over-year for the same sales period with fewer platforms,” Curran explained.
“According to NPD, for the month of December and the 2011 year, THQ was the No.5 publisher overall, No.4 third party, with reported sell through growing over 18 per cent in a market that was down almost 6 per cent. And coming up next, we have two great titles for the first half of the year including UFC Undisputed 3 and Darksiders 2.”
THQ has recently turned a corner ending 2011 with very strong sales, thanks mostly to Volition’s Saints Row: The Third, and 2012 looks to be even better with a very strong line-up.
We remain hopeful that THQ maintains this course as the longer this major player in the games industry remains independent, the fiercer competition between publishers becomes which inevitably leads to better games being released.
Tags: THQ
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