THQ Inc. (Toy Headquarters) is a global American developer and publisher of video games. The company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices. THQ's titles span most major interactive entertainment software genres, including action, adventure, racing, fighting and wrestling, first person shooter, puzzle, role-playing, simulation, sports, strategy and real-time strategy games.
The company maintains a balance of internally created and externally licensed content in its product portfolio. THQ's internally created franchises include Saints Row, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Red Faction, MX vx. ATV, Company of Heroes and others. The company also holds exclusive, long-term licensing agreements with leading sports and entertainment content creators including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Games Workshop (Warhammer 40,000), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Nickelodeon and Disney-Pixar.
History
The company began building out its internal product development capabilities in 2001 with the acquisition of Volition, Inc. located in Champaign, IL. Since then, THQ's internal studio system has grown to sixteen studios across the globe with distinct capabilities across all viable gaming platforms. Studios such as Relic Entertainment, Paradigm Entertainment, Juice Games, Kaos Studios and Volition, Inc., who are working on games for next generation of consoles as well as PCs.
THQ's global distribution network includes offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific as follows: United States, Canada and Mexico; Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; Australia, and Korea, Japan. Key THQ Wireless brands include Star Wars, WWE and certain Disney-Pixar properties. THQ Wireless serves content via all major carriers worldwide including Sprint, Motorola, Nokia (N-gage), AT&T, Sony-Ericsson, Orange in Europe and others.
The company has several titles in development for next-generation consoles and personal computers, including Saints Row 2 and Destroy All Humans!. Major franchises include games based on THQ's long standing licensing relationships with WWE, Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon. The company also holds long-term rights to Bratz from MGA Entertainment and Warhammer 40,000 from Games Workshop.
On May 10, 2007, THQ reported its highest annual sales figures and net profits ever for the fiscal year which ended March 31. THQ's revenues reached over $1 billion.
In March 2008, THQ announced they were to develop the world's first ever cheerleading game using the Wii Balance Board.[1]
Studios
| Studios |
| Big Huge Games |
| Founded in 2000 by four veteran game developers and acquired by THQ in 2008, Big Huge Games is a video game studio focused on cutting-edge technology and aimed at mass-market game development. Big Huge Games founders Brian Reynolds, Jason Coleman, David Inscore and Tim Train continue in the tradition of creating inspired and innovative games for PC and next-generation consoles. Creating games that have received numerous "Game of the Year" awards and accolades, Big Huge Games is headquartered in Timonium, Maryland. |
| Blue Tongue Entertainment |
| Founded in 1995 and acquired by THQ in 2004, Blue Tongue Entertainment Pty. Ltd. is located in Melbourne, Australia. Blue Tongue has released titles in many genres, from Windows PC simulations to console platforms. Blue Tongue's most recent games include Barnyard for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Wii and Windows PC, and Nicktoons Battle for Volcano Island for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Blue Tongue currently develops original and licensed titles for current and next-generation consoles. |
| Heavy Iron Studios |
| Founded as a THQ studio in 1999, Heavy Iron has worked in partnership with creators of animated feature film properties, including Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game. Heavy Iron's previous titles include Scooby-Doo!: Night of 100 Frights and SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. Both of these titles were nominated in consecutive years by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences for "Children's Title of the Year." Heavy Iron is working on next-generation console games in the action and platform genres. Heavy Iron Studios is located in Los Angeles, California. |
| Helixe Games |
| Founded in July 2000, Helixe Games specializes in game development for Nintendo handheld gaming platforms. The studio has produced games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance including top-selling Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles and Cars, as well as games based on the Star Wars and Scooby-Doo franchises and numerous titles based on popular Nickelodeon brands. Helixe is currently focused on licensed games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Helixe is located near Boston, Massachusetts. |
| Incinerator Studios |
| Established by THQ in 2005, Incinerator Studios was founded by industry veterans with development experience in the NFL GameDay game, Twisted Metal, and MLB: The Show franchises from Sony, as well as the Midnight Club franchise from Rockstar Games. Incinerator produced Disney-Pixar's Cars for the Wii, and it now developing multiple games for all next-generation consoles. Incinerator Studios is located in Carlsbad, California. |
| Juice Games |
| Founded in 2003 and acquired by THQ in 2006, Juice Games released the 1.5 million-unit selling Juiced in June 2005. The game won the best New UK/European Studio award in the 2005 Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Juice Games also develops titles for handheld and mobile gaming devices. Juice Games is located in Warrington, United Kingdom. |
| Kaos Studios |
| Established by THQ in 2005, Kaos Studios was formed by industry veterans of the first-person shooter genre. The group's core team had key roles in Trauma Studios' Desert Combat, the multi-million download modification for the original Battlefield 1942, and includes members of the research and development team for DICE's Battlefield 2. Additional members of the fifty-person team contributed to the development of shooters that include FEAR, Medal of Honor, and Doom 3. Kaos Studios is based in New York, NY. |
| Locomotive Games |
| Formerly Pacific Coast Power & Light, Locomotive Games was founded in 1997 and acquired by THQ in 1999. Locomotive Games has developed racing, arcade, and action games for the PSP and Wii consoles, including Disney-Pixar's Cars for the PSP. Locomotive first partnered with THQ on games such as Nuclear Strike and Road Rash for the Nintendo 64. After becoming an official THQ studio, Locomotive developed the motocross game MX Superfly. Currently, Locomotive is working on several titles for both the PSP and Wii, including Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed. The studio is located in Santa Clara, California. |
| Mass Media |
| The core group of Mass Media came together in the late 1980s at Cinemaware. In 1995, Mass Media became an exclusive developer for Time Warner Interactive. Since then and before being acquired by THQ, Mass Media was an independent developer. The company is based in Moorpark, California, and has worked on such titles as Full Spectrum Warrior and Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers for THQ. |
| Paradigm Entertainment |
| Founded by industry veterans in 1997, and acquired by THQ in 2006, Paradigm Entertainment has multiple projects for next-generation consoles. Paradigm has created several well-known action games including Pilotwings 64, Beetle Adventure Racing, and SpyHunter. The studio is located near Dallas, Texas. |
| Rainbow Studios |
| Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Rainbow Studios was founded in 1996 and acquired by THQ in 2001. In 2006, Rainbow developed Disney•Pixar's Cars, a racing title based on the film and released on all major gaming platforms. Rainbow also developed the "MX" franchise, including MX Unleashed and MX vs. ATV Unleashed, both of which achieved "Greatest Hits" and "Platinum Hits" status from Sony and Microsoft. During its fifteen-year video game history, Rainbow's racing and technological expertise gained success with titles such as Motocross Madness, Motocross Madness 2 (winner of Best Sports Computer Game of 2000 by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences), Splashdown, ATV Off-Road Fury, ATV Off-Road Fury 2, and Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2. Rainbow Studios released MX vs. ATV: Untamed in December 2007, and are currently developing Deadly Creatures, an action-adventure game exclusively for Wii. |
| Relic Entertainment |
| Based in Vancouver, BC, Relic Entertainment was founded in 1997 and acquired by THQ in 2004. Relic Entertainment develops real-time strategy games, such as Company of Heroes, which is one of the highest rated Windows PC games. Relic's history of critically acclaimed titles began with Homeworld, which received several Game of the Year and Strategy Game of the Year awards from PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World. Since then, Relic has released Homeworld: Cataclysm (co-developed with Barking Dog Studios), Impossible Creatures, Homeworld 2, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War with its expansions Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, The Outfit, and Company of Heroes with its expansion Opposing Fronts. |
| Sandblast Games |
| Formerly Cranky Pants Games. Formed by THQ in 2002, Sandblast Games brought staff from Electronic Arts, Nintendo to focus on design for current and next-generation gaming platforms. Sandblast Games developed Evil Dead: Regeneration for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, based on the cult horror film. Sandblast Games also created versions of the critically acclaimed Red Faction II and Summoner: A Goddess Reborn for the Nintendo GameCube. Sandblast Games is currently working on Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon for next-generation consoles. Sandblast Games is located near Seattle, Washington. |
| THQ Studio Australia |
| Founded in January 2003, THQ Studio Australia most recently shipped Avatar The Last Airbender: The Burning Earth, on PlayStation 2, Wii, and Xbox 360. Previously, the studio created the Nickelodeon games Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! and Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies on the Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox. The studio is currently developing titles on sixth and seventh generation consoles. |
| Vigil Games |
| Founded in 2005, most notably by comic book artist Joe Madureira, and acquired by THQ in 2006.[2] Vigil Games is located in Austin, Texas. |
| Volition, Inc. |
| Acquired by THQ in 2000 to develop original titles for all major gaming consoles. The company was created when Parallax Software (the developer of the Descent series) was split (the other half was the now-defunct Outrage Entertainment who developed Descent 3 and Alter Echo). Volition, Inc. developed the FreeSpace series of space simulation computer games, and other titles including Red Faction, Red Faction II, Summoner, The Punisher. In August 2006, THQ and Volition released Saints Row, the first next generation open-world title for the Xbox 360. Among other innovative features, Saints Row combines character and vehicle customization with multiplayer gameplay over the Xbox Live network. Saints Row was the number one selling game following its release and received Editor's Choice accolades from IGN.com and GamePro. They are currently working on a follow-up, Saints Row 2, to be released in 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Volition is located in Champaign, Illinois. |
XDG
The External Development Group (XDG) was found originally by Shiraz Akmal on March 14, 2006[3] to streamline THQ's outsourcing initiatives. In 2008, the group, now headed by Kevin Chu, transitioned from traditional business to business outsourcing methods to a more advanced form of distributed development[4]. Following suite to this, the group opened a headquarters in Shanghai, China to continue the growth of outsourcing and distributed development as well further expand on the group's role in spearheading the development of online and console games[5].
Additional developers/divisions
Upcoming games
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2008
- Viva Piñata: Pocket Paradise (Nintendo DS)
- Deadly Creatures (Wii)
- Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
- Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed (PSP, Wii)
- de Blob (Wii, Nintendo DS)
- Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC)
- WALL-E (Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PC/Mac, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP)
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War MMO (PC)
- Zoo Tycoon DS 2 (Nintendo DS)
- Baja: Edge of Control (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
- WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii)
- Big Beach Sports (Wii)
- Lock's Quest (Nintendo DS)
- Rocket Riot (Xbox Live Arcade)
- Tak: A Big Dose of Gross (PS2, Wii)
2009
See also
References
External links
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