Defunct publisher THQ is coming back from the dead, sort of. If you recall, the American company closed its doors for good back in 2013, subsequently selling its own trademark and the rights to various games in the studio’s back catalogue to Nordic Games for an undisclosed sum of cash.
As of today, however, Nordic has confirmed its intention to undergo a rebranding process. Once official, the company will be referring to itself as THQ Nordic – how nostalgic. But what are the reasons behind the name change? A representative for the studio explains that it was (via VideoGamer) “time to incorporate the THQ name.”
Whilst we take great pride in our Swedish roots and accomplished a great deal under the Nordic Games masthead, we decided it was time to incorporate the THQ name. Those key brands will continue to shape our business in a meaningful way going forward, and THQ Nordic represents a core approach of doing much more than “owning” a highly competitive portfolio of IPs.
We cherish them, and align them with the very best development resources to expand upon them with the level of experience that communities and established fan bases expect and deserve. Side note – another upside to this whole rebrand thing is we don’t get asked about the Nordic Game parties at Gamescom anymore – it was the other guys who threw them.
According to THQ Nordic, they currently have 23 games in development, the majority of which “are based on former THQ owned IPs and franchises.” Does this mean we could be seeing a potential Red Faction sequel and a Darksiders III? We’ll just have to wait and see, but hopefully not too long – it’s been a while since either franchise got a follow-up.