In a bid to move its focus away from licensed kids titles and movie-based entertainment properties, THQ announced that it has pulled the plug on two of its Australian studios as well as a development team at in Phoenix, thus resulting in the laying off of about 200 employees. The developer also confirmed that it would relinquish its racing franchise, MX vs. ATV.
After the poor performance of Red Faction: Armageddon, the company had recently revealed that it would no longer create games in that series. While THQ Montreal will be focusing on an unannounced new IP, Volition will be responsible for Saints Row: The Third, and inSANE. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine is being handled by Relic and Darksiders II and Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online by Vigil. THQ San Diego will look after WWE All Stars and other fighting titles.
Brian Farrell, President and CEO, THQ, cited, “With this realignment, we are narrowing our focus to high-quality owned IP with broad appeal that can be leveraged across multiple platforms, and to work with the best talent in the industry. By right-sizing our internal development capacities for our console portfolio, our five internal studios are focused on delivering high-quality games with talented teams driving the execution of those titles to market. As we have outlined in our business strategies, we are making shifts to reduce movie-based and licensed kids’ video games in our portfolio, which underscores our strategy to move away from games that will not generate strong profits in the future.”
The U.S. developer and publisher had earlier mentioned that it would be focusing its attention more towards online and digitally distributed titles on social media and mobile platforms, like the upcoming Margaritaville Online. In addition to this, hard-core game franchises such as Saints Row will receive more support. The company has also planned a re-launch of its website.
THQ’s decision to lay-off 200 employees and part with the MX vs. ATV franchise may seem a little harsh, but what remains to be seen is whether it will be able to ”˜better align resources’ in the future.