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THQ properties were sold today at auction. SEGA picked up Relic; Koch purchased Volition and the Metro franchise; Crytek bought Homefront; Take-Two bought Evolve; and Ubisoft bought THQ Montreal and The South Park game.
THE REPORTED FIGURES
SEGA bought Relic for $26 million.
No bidders for Darksiders developer, Vigil Games.
Crytek paid $500,00 for Homeland.
Koch bout the Metro game rights for $5.8 million and Volition for $22.3 million.
Ubisoft paid $3.2 million for South Park: The Stick of Truth and $2.5 million for THQ Montreal.
Take-Two bought the unannounced Evolve game for $11 million.
Total proceeds of auction came to around $100 million.
A letter to employees issued by THQ’s CEO and president Jason Rubin, courtesy of Kotaku, lists the companies which purchased the firm’s IPs at auction.
“The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows: Sega agreed to purchase Relic, Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro, Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront, Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve, and Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park,” said Rubin.
“We expect these sales to close this week.”
According to tweets from DDInvesting, Crytek picked Homeland up for $500,000, Koch nabbed Metro for $5.8 million and Volition for $22.3 million, Ubisoft paid $3.2 million for South Park: The Stick of Truth and $2.5 million for THQ Montreal headed up by former Assassin’s Creed chief Patrice Désilets and its 1666 title.
SEGA bought Relic for $26 million and Take-Two bought the unannounced Evolve game from Turtle Rock Studios for $11 million.
Total proceeds of auction came to around $100 million.
According to reports, there were no bids for Darksiders developer Vigil Games, and Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media, has put in a backup bid of $26.3 million for Relic in case SEGA’s offer doesn’t go through.
Other backup bidders include Ubosoft for Volition ($5.4 million) and the Metro franchise ($5.175 million). Turtle Rock also submitted a backup bid of $250,000 for its title Evolve.
Through the firm’s financial restructuring and Chapter 11 case, some assets, including the publishing businesses and Vigil, along with other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. These will remain part of the Chapter 11 case and appropriate buyers will be found “if possible.”
“We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners,” Rubin continued. “However, we cannot say what these owners may intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new owners intend to extend employment to you.
“If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient resources to pay these employees forwork going forward, and we will be contacting these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers.”
A meeting is scheduled to take place tomorrow, January 24, and Rubin said further talks with employees will commence.
Rubin went on to say THQ was “proud of what we have accomplished despite today’s outcome,” and while the company will “cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership.”
He said THQ was hoping the company would remain intact, “but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations.”
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