THQ files for bankruptcy

THQ is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

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THQ is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The beleaguered company has seen tough times over the years, with uDraw being a large part for many of the company's woes. In a prepared statement, the company says that its operations, including the ongoing development of its games, will be unaffected as the publisher has secured interim financing. Some noteworthy titles on THQ's slate include the upcoming South Park RPG, Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, Homefront 2, and the next Saints Row title.

"All of the company's studios remain open, and all development teams continue. The company remains confident in its existing pipeline of games. THQ maintains relationships with some of the top independent development studios around the globe," the press release stated.

Affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group LIP will acquire assets of THQ's business. Providing the court approves of THQ's "first-day motions," the company expects Clearlake to assume any contracts with aforementioned third-party studios.

THQ recently ran a controversial Humble Bundle, which raised many millions of dollars. However, it's clear that the cash raised from the sale could not delay today's announcement.

"The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ's transformation and position the company for the future, as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios and THQ's deep bench of talent," THQ CEO Brian Farrell said. "We are grateful to our outstanding team of employees, partners and suppliers who have worked with us through this transition. We are pleased to have attracted a strong financial partner for our business, and we hope to complete the sale swiftly to make the process as seamless as possible."

Jason Rubin, who joined THQ as their president in May, also commented: "We have incredible, creative talent here at THQ. We look forward to partnering with experienced investors for a new start as we will continue to use our intellectual property assets to develop high-quality core games, create new franchise titles, and drive demand through both traditional and digital channels."

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 19, 2012 11:15 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, THQ files for bankruptcy.

    THQ is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 5:38 PM

        Volition will hopefully find a new home.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 11:21 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 11:27 AM

        They have a lot of good stuff on the way in 2013, so there's a remote chance that they can pull through this. Very remote.

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      December 19, 2012 11:26 AM

      :( I think we all knew this was coming, but it's still sad. They have been a pretty good publisher and they have made some great games. I hope there's a way forward for them, chapter 11 bankruptcy can result in a better business entity overall.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 11:30 AM

      coh2 still happens or?

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 11:32 AM

        None of their soon-to-be-released games should be affected.

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        December 19, 2012 11:33 AM

        THQ won't be stopping operations yet, however heavy restructuring normally happens with a Chapter 11 so projects may get canned. I would be surprised if projects with expected profits would get canned altogether, however they may end up being sold to other companies to finish development.

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        December 19, 2012 11:45 AM

        Read. The. Article.

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        December 19, 2012 11:55 AM

        Well, THQ 'claims' nothing is being stopped. But, Relic is owned by THQ. If it's wholly owned, then Relic doesn't have any assets to call its own if it all goes down. That'll suck.

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        December 19, 2012 1:24 PM

        CoH2 will still happen, but I wonder about post-release support.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 11:31 AM

      Oh crud.

      Fingers crossed that all their decent studios and IP's come out of this in a more stable position.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 11:38 AM

      It makes me wonder what assets are being sold :/

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 11:50 AM

        :( shit, I am scared someone hold me.

        I hate news like this it sucks when a company goes down.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 11:41 AM

      But but but I never got to enter the dominatrix :(

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 11:58 AM

      I wonder if they could have staved this off if they didn't drop their kids game lines.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 12:14 PM

      Man, what a crazy struggle to stay afloat. whatever happens I hope relic, vigil and volition stay as studios.

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 5:18 PM

        Or the good talent leaves, starts new ips and thus continues the circle of life

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 12:15 PM

      What about all the money they are making off the THQ Humble Bumble is that assets they will take in without bankruptcy? I wonder if that money is what they used to file bankruptcy.

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 12:59 PM

        lets say they pulled in like 2.5 million, that's not nearly enough to keep the company running and cover marketing required for the games coming out next year, they still need money to pay off debt interest and keep staff.

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        December 19, 2012 3:46 PM

        They probably need the bundle money to give severance packages ;-)

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        December 19, 2012 4:33 PM

        [deleted]

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          December 19, 2012 5:24 PM

          No, there was a charity option, but a good amount went to THQ.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 12:54 PM

      Damn.

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 12:56 PM

      shit shit shit shit shit shit shit

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 1:01 PM

      nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

      Sad day for gamers.

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      December 19, 2012 1:04 PM

      The end of an era.

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      December 19, 2012 1:47 PM

      Here is the bankruptcy doc filed : http://www.kccllc.net/documents/8826100/8826100121219000000000002.pdf

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 3:56 PM

      I want them to turn around so badly. I've been buying all their stuff in the hopes that it happens. They used to be a shovelware company with crappy kids games and movie tie-ins and the rasslin' games. Then they started accuiring good stuff and opening up new IPs, and it makes me sad to see that doing what the customers want is not going well for them.

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        December 19, 2012 4:44 PM

        SR4 bitches! Glad to see they should be coming out of this ok.

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        December 19, 2012 4:46 PM

        ITS A FESTIVUS MIRACLE!!!!

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        December 19, 2012 4:54 PM

        Praise be.

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        December 19, 2012 4:55 PM

        Clearlake is one of those private equity firms that jump at distressed companies, like Cerberus, Elliott, Blackstone, etc. What they say they're doing right now with THQ's assets may be different from what they actually do. Jason Rubin is simply trying to calm the troops.

        While it's a better situation than Chapter 7, private equity firms can do things to companies that end up hurting the final product. Priority one of a private equity firm is to make maximum profit out of the distressed corporate entity. They could end up selling entire studios or IP portfolios to other publishers to make a ton more money than reviving the company wholly intact.

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          December 19, 2012 5:02 PM

          The archvile, of course their number one priority is to make the company turn a profit. That's the whole point of a company. It was the whole point of THQ existing at all, and they have apparently failed, and so someone else coming in to change things to actually work is most likely a good thing. The alternative is they close their doors forever. :(

          You act like THQ changing is a bad thing, but the reality is that the way THQ was functioning was bad!

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            December 19, 2012 5:23 PM

            That said, this is not going to be a magical transition where everything's rescued and saved. It does seem odd that Clearlake is throwing down enough capital to finish development and distribution for the games currently in THQ's pipeline. One part of me thinks, "Where the hell did that money come from? And if it was just what Clearlake set aside for the Chapter 11 announcement, where do they plan to recoup that money?"

            Remember, this is not salvation. This is acquisition. I anticipate at least 1 or 2 divestitures of IP and/or studio staff within the next 2 years.

            • reply
              December 19, 2012 5:40 PM

              well, of course. clearlake's own investors won't be happy if the company acquires stuff and wastes money

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          December 19, 2012 5:14 PM

          Cerberus?! Those racist, anti-alien, mind-controlly, Indoctrination-loving motherbitches.

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          December 19, 2012 5:26 PM

          They're working with Cerberus?!

      • reply
        December 19, 2012 4:55 PM

        Relic!!!!!!!!!!!

        • reply
          December 20, 2012 12:59 AM

          WHERE'S MY HOMEWORLD 3?????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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            December 20, 2012 1:12 AM

            HW2 was so awesome, such good memories. I need HW3 too.

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        December 19, 2012 5:00 PM

        This does a pretty good job of explaining that Chapter 11 is not the same fucking thing as "the company is closing". The amount of misinformed people (and even journalists!) today around the web has been pretty annoying!

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          December 19, 2012 5:50 PM

          [deleted]

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            December 19, 2012 10:55 PM

            I would love to see a tell-all book or something about exactly what caused THQ's current predicament. You don't make that many highly acclaimed games and then go bankrupt without some serious mismanagement, bad contracts, or other crazy drama involved.

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              December 19, 2012 11:23 PM

              uDraw Tablet and not having the kids games or wrestling sales to catch them when they fell. If not for Saints Row 3's success they would have been in a much worse position much earlier.

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        December 19, 2012 5:37 PM

        WOOOOO! NOW MAKE HOMEWORLD 3 WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!!

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        December 19, 2012 5:49 PM

        :D

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 4:48 PM

      Somebody needs a Kickstarter

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 5:48 PM

      That's what you get for making good, quality games.

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      December 19, 2012 6:05 PM

      Support THQ to survive for next year and I will buy whole games to give $$ to the THQ. THQ is the great game company ever! :[

    • reply
      December 19, 2012 8:24 PM

      I guess that new logo just wasn't enough...

    • reply
      December 20, 2012 12:02 AM

      36 cents a share now. That's bound to go up some.

      • reply
        December 20, 2012 12:51 AM

        They should put themselves on the Steam Market.

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