THQ to shut down Australian studios, includes Blue Tongue
Today is a sad day for Australian gamers and fans of the adorable puzzle-platformer de Blob, as publisher THQ has announced that they will be closing down their two Australian studios, which includes Blue Tongue Entertainment, the studio behind de Blob. THQ Studio Australia will also be closing down this week. The Brisbane-based studio worked on licensed titles such as Megamind: Ultimate Showdown, and was reported to be currently working on a game adaptation of The Avengers.
THQ will be laying of 200 employees in what they say is part of their larger plan to transition away from developing movie-based titles and children’s’ games. It makes sense, then, that they would choose to shut down their two Australian studios, as both were primarily licensed-based. It was also reported that they dissolved a development team at the company’s Phoenix location, as well.
“As we have outlined in our business strategies, we are making shifts to reduce movie-based and licensed kids’ video games in our portfolio, which underscores our strategy to move away from games that will not generate strong profits in the future.” -Brian Farrel, THQ president and CEO
Now, in the wake of these studio closures, five internal studios remain at THQ. These include THQ Montreal, Relic Entertainment, Vigil Games, THQ San Diego, and Volition, who will be bringing us Saints Row: The 3rd on November 15th.
[via Gamasutra]
Anne will tell you whether or not you’re missing out when it comes to those pesky Japan-only releases. When she isn’t researching gender and sexuality in Japanese popular culture, she’s playing the quirkiest games she can get her hands on. Region locking is the bane of her existence.
From what I’ve been reading around the web it seems true that Sega Studios is looking to pick up some of these unfortunate folks from THQ.