THQ "core games" VP Danny Bilson may have stepped down, but he went out still confident in his company's direction and success with recent restructuring efforts. Only a week before his departure from the company was announced, he boasted about the troubled publisher's budget for core games, and talked about the THQ's strategy in digital initiatives.
Partnering with Game's Workshop has been a lucrative investment for publisher THQ, which has launched a variety of titles tied to the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Sometime in 2013, THQ is set to jump into the massively multiplayer online space with Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online from developer Vigil Games. But the MMO landscape is changing, with more games launching (or eventually turning to) free-to-play as its business model.
Speaking with THQ executive VP of Core Games Danny Bilson, he discussed his company's plans for Dark Millennium Online and responds to Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley's comments that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be the last game with a traditional pay-to-play model.
Read more: 'A lot of different models' for Dark Millennium Online »
Interviewing Danny Bilson, THQ's executive VP of Core Games, last night at a preview event for an upcoming title, I asked whether or not Relic's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine sold well enough to "deserve" a sequel.
"Perhaps," Bilson told me. "But there's an issue--a very interesting one around that. I can't speak to it too much without giving away too much about the MMO that we're working on," he said, referring to the long-in-development title Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online from Vigil Games.
According to French website Rue Frontenac, Ubisoft has been granted an injunction order against THQ from the Superior Court of Quebec forcing the company to comply with the "non-solicit clause" included in Ubisoft Montreal's work contracts. In short, the injunction will halt poaching of talent from Ubisoft's Montreal studio, Game Informer confirmed with Ubisoft.
Last year, THQ revealed it would open a Montreal studio to help develop a number of titles under its "Core Games" banner. As part of the studio's introduction to the world, THQ revealed it would hire former Ubisoft producer Patrice Désilets to lead the new studio. Read more »
During his keynote that concluded the IGDA Leadership Forum, THQ's executive VP of core games Danny Bilson revealed fresh details on his company's upcoming project with director Guillermo del Toro.
"You've heard rumors of us working with a big film director who is actually a big gamer," Bilson told the crowd [via Joystiq], ignoring the fact that del Toro already announced the partnership in September. The new information Bilson did provide, however, was that the title of del Toro's project--along with the team developing the game--will be revealed "on the [Spike] VGA awards" next month. Read more »
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