Companies

THQ Inc.

THQ Inc. is a developer and publisher.

THQ Inc. Webpage

Most Popular Games Developed by THQ Inc.

Gotham by Gaslight

Gotham by Gaslight

cancelled

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Gotham by Gaslight

THQ, Inc., an American publishing company founded in 1990, is considered one of the oldest and most distinguished publishers of video games. The company was headquartered in Agoura Hills, Los Angeles County, California, but also had branches in Europe and Southeast Asia. On November 13, 2012, the company declared bankruptcy and ceased operations a few months after selling off its intellectual property. During its peak activity, THQ owned approximately thirty subsidiaries and development studios, the most important of which were:

Initially, THQ focused primarily on toy production and sales, but abandoned this business in 1994 to become one of the world's largest video game publishers in the first decade of the 21st century. During its more than 20 years in business, the company published games for all popular hardware platforms – from the legendary NES and SNES consoles, through handhelds like the Game Boy, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable, to PC and subsequent generations of consoles from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. Over the years, THQ has also maintained a balance between productions created by its own development teams and titles developed by external studios.

Among the most popular brands aimed at older gamers are action games (Red Faction, Saints Row, Darksiders, Full Spectrum Warrior series, Homefront, Metro 2033, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl), sports games licensed by WWE and UFC, racing games (Juiced and MX vs. ATV series), strategy games (Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series, Company of Heroes, and Supreme Commander), and RPGs (Titan Quest and Summoner series). THQ's portfolio also consisted of characters from kids' shows licensed by Nickelodeon and Pixar. The most common characters appearing in them were characters from TV series such as Scooby-Doo, Spongebob Squarepants and Hot Wheels, as well as from the movies like Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E.

History

The beginnings and the 1990s

THQ's origins date back to 1989, when Trinity Acquisition Corporation was formed in New York City to raise capital for future, yet undefined, business activities. A year later, in April 1990, former LJN Toys co-founder Jack Friedman, investing $1 million of his own money, established a company in Calabasas, California called THQ, short for Toy HeadQuarters (originally spelled T•HQ). The following year, the company was acquired by Trinity Acquisition Corporation, but the new company retained the THQ name, with Friedman himself as president. Although THQ released its first game, Peter Pan and the Pirates, for the Nintendo Entertainment System, in January 1991, it initially focused primarily on toy production, abandoning that business in 1994. A year later, the company's founder, Jack Friedman, left to found a new toy company called Jakks Pacific.

In 1993, THQ acquired Chicago-based studio Black Pearl Software, and in 1997, Pacific Coast Power & Light. During this period, the company released its first major games, such as Battle Arena Toshinden 2, X-Beyond the Frontier, and the console wrestling series WCW (later renamed WWF and finally WWE). With the arrival of the new millennium, THQ presented the world with a refreshed logo, under which the company operated for the next 11 years. In September 2000, the company acquired Volition, previously known for two installments of the Descent Freespace series, and released its acclaimed action RPG Summoner, followed by subsequent installments of the Red Faction and Saints Row series, which became key franchises in the company's portfolio.

The company's growth and initial financial difficulties

In the following years, THQ continued its expansion, acquiring development studios such as Relic Entertainment (the Company of Heroes and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series), Vigil Games (the Darksiders series), Blue Tongue Software (the de Blob series), Kaos Studios (Frontlines: Fuel of War, Homefront), and Juice Games (the Juiced racing series). At the same time, the company also expanded its collaborations with external developers such as Pandemic Studios (the Full Spectrum Warrior series) and Gas Powered Games (Supreme Commander). Productions based on expensive licenses from American sports associations such as WWE (the WWE series) and UFC (the UFC Undisputed series), Games Workshop (games set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe), Nickelodeon, and Pixar was also very important for THQ's publishing portfolio. The 2006/2007 fiscal year turned out to be the best in the history of the company - it achieved over one billion dollars in revenue during that time.

Shortly thereafter, however, THQ's financial situation began to deteriorate, and in November 2008, the company decided to close five smaller internal studios: Paradigm Entertainment, Mass Media, Helixe, Sandblast Games, and Locomotive Games. There were also first rumors of a possible takeover. The following year, Heavy Iron Studios and Incinerator Studios were spun off from the THQ group, and Big Huge Games found a new owner, acquired by 38 Studios (creators of the Rise of Nations series). In 2010-2011, the company's logo, which had been in use for over a decade, was changed and a thorough reorganization of the group was carried out, affecting, among others, Juice Games, Kaos Studios, and Rainbow Studios (creators of the MX vs. ATV series). Further development of the Red Faction series was discontinued, and the UFC license was sold to Electronic Arts. The uDraw GameTablet, a device created in cooperation with THQ, initially intended for the Wii console and later also for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, turned out to be a complete fiasco.

Bankruptcy

After unsuccessful attempts to save the company, THQ declared bankruptcy on November 13, 2012. This resulted in, among other things, delaying games such as Company of Heroes 2 and Metro: Last Light by several months. The games were released in spring 2013 – under new publishers. Initially, Clearlake Capital Group was interested in acquiring all of THQ's intellectual property. However, the court refused to approve such a transaction, ordering the sale of individual brands at individual auctions. As a result of the most important of them:

Developed Games

List of all released games developed by THQ Inc..

Released Games

List of all released games published by THQ Inc..

THQ Inc. News

UK's first Neuralink participant is exploring playing Dawn of War again

UK's first Neuralink participant is exploring playing Dawn of War again

It's hard to imagine being unable to play video games, so it's great that the UK's first Neuralink participant might be able to play their favorite games again.

video games

October 28, 2025

UK's first Neuralink participant is exploring playing Dawn of War again
Fans completed Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy by themselves with Sphinx and the Shadow of Set mod

Fans completed Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy by themselves with Sphinx and the Shadow of Set mod

When Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy debuted on the market over two decades ago, the game was highly incomplete. However, a group of fans recreated the authors' original vision.

Files and Mods

September 15, 2025

Fans completed Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy by themselves with Sphinx and the Shadow of Set mod
MMORPG that could have threatened WoW's dominance. Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online died before it was born

MMORPG that could have threatened WoW's dominance. Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online died before it was born

Making an MMO game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe is not an easy task. Vigil Games and THQ, which at one time worked on the ambitious Dark Millennium Online project, have found this out.

video games

August 3, 2025

MMORPG that could have threatened WoW's dominance. Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online died before it was born
Classic Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War with new maps and unit thanks to Redux Mod

Classic Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War with new maps and unit thanks to Redux Mod

The big Redux mod for the first Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War has received a new version that introduces, among other things, an additional unit and a number of maps.

Files and Mods

June 16, 2025

Classic Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War with new maps and unit thanks to Redux Mod
Marvel's superheroes could get a hit inspired by Secret Wars. The Avengers was meant to be a striking FPP game

Marvel's superheroes could get a hit inspired by Secret Wars. The Avengers was meant to be a striking FPP game

THQ had some promising projects in its portfolio that ultimately didn't get a chance to shine. One of them was The Avengers game, meant to provide a unique look at the adventures of Marvel's superheroes.

video games

June 1, 2025

Marvel's superheroes could get a hit inspired by Secret Wars. The Avengers was meant to be a striking FPP game
39% positive on Steam: Stalker Enhanced Editions dissapoint fans with cut content and blurry visuals

39% positive on Steam: Stalker Enhanced Editions dissapoint fans with cut content and blurry visuals

Three classic Stalker games were released today on Steam as enhanced editions. But fans agree that „enhanced” does not feel like the proper title for these.

video games

May 20, 2025

39% positive on Steam: Stalker Enhanced Editions dissapoint fans with cut content and blurry visuals
Steampunk Batman. Gotham by Gaslight could present a Victorian take on the popular superhero's adventures

Steampunk Batman. Gotham by Gaslight could present a Victorian take on the popular superhero's adventures

Gotham by Gaslight is a comic book showing one of the more interesting versions of Batman. Under the wings of THQ, a game based on it was being created, which could stand up to the Batman: Arkham series.

video games

May 18, 2025

Steampunk Batman. Gotham by Gaslight could present a Victorian take on the popular superhero's adventures
Red Faction Tried to Start Revolution but Fell Short. This Shooter Is Remembered for Wall Destruction

Red Faction Tried to Start Revolution but Fell Short. This Shooter Is Remembered for Wall Destruction

Red Faction was big for a while. The FPS from Volition broke through into the consciousness of gamers mainly because of its almost absolute demolition of walls. It was supposed to be a revolution, but today the game is rather rarely mentioned.

video games

December 2, 2024

Red Faction Tried to Start Revolution but Fell Short. This Shooter Is Remembered for Wall Destruction
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 With Survival Co-op Thanks to Elite Mod [Update: version 2.9.11 is out]

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 With Survival Co-op Thanks to Elite Mod [Update: version 2.9.11 is out]

A new version of the Elite Mod project, one of the most important mods for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution, has been released. Among other things, the project has recently gained new skirmish modes and a survival variant for solo or co-op play.

Files and Mods

April 9, 2024

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 With Survival Co-op Thanks to Elite Mod [Update: version 2.9.11 is out]
Stalker Trilogy Set to Escape PC Shackles and Make Its Way to Consoles. We Have First Screenshots

Stalker Trilogy Set to Escape PC Shackles and Make Its Way to Consoles. We Have First Screenshots

Thanks to a leak in Japanese stores, we have found out that the old installments of the STALKER series will soon be coming to consoles.

video games

March 6, 2024

Stalker Trilogy Set to Escape PC Shackles and Make Its Way to Consoles. We Have First Screenshots
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