Publisher THQ Nordic acquires Gunfire Games, the studio that created Darksiders III. The publisher also incorporates the Italian Milestone, which is the studio behind the MotoGP games. THQ also announced that a new Saints Row game is being worked on.
The acquisitions and the arrival of the new game are apparent from the quarterly figures presented by THQ Nordic. The company writes that developer Volution is busy making a new Saints Row game and that it is a full-fledged sequel to Saints Row IV from 2013. When the new game will be released, it is not yet known.
What the THQ Nordic will pay for the acquisition of Gunfire Games has not been disclosed. The studio has already worked closely with THQ, but is now wholly owned by the publisher. The acquisition includes 63 employees and all rights to the titles in Gunfire’s portfolio. A new game in the series is already in the works, but Darksider Genesis is being made by a different studio.
THQ Nordic will pay 44.9 million euros for the acquisition of the Italian studio Milestone. That amount can increase if certain targets are exceeded. Milestone was founded 25 years ago and is known for its racing games. The studio owns the MotoGP rights and annually releases a game around the motorcycle racing championship. Milestone is also the creator of the Ride and MXGP series.
THQ Nordic has also acquired American Goodbye Kansas Game Invest. That is an investor who puts money into various game studios. One of the studios the company is investing in is Swedish developer Experiment 101, which is working on the game Biomutant. THQ Nordic is going to publish that game and through the acquisition of Goodbye Kansas it will get full rights to that title.
THQ Nordic AB, the parent company that includes Koch Media/Deep Silver, Coffee Stain and THQ Nordic GmbH, also wants to change its name. The umbrella owner of the game studios and publishers wants to continue as the Embracer Group. The name change will be presented at the annual meeting of shareholders on 17 September and will take effect at that time if approved.
Saints Row IV, 2013