Gamasutra is reporting on a few business outlook changes THQ has undertaken following a re-evaluation of its third quarter financial results. Included within the changes are a studio closure, a few game platform drops and the abandonment of two game franchises.
First, the company announced they’ve dropped the Stuntman and Juiced franchises following poor sales. Back in October, THQ CEO Brian Farrell commented on the poor sales of the two franchises by saying, "This is not acceptable and we’ve taken steps to address it." It looks like they took the full step and dropped them completely.
THQ also dropped a few planned platform releases for a few games, including canceling the PS3 version of Frontlines: Fuel of War and the PS2 version of Destroy all Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed.
Lastly, THQ closed its Concrete Games studio, whom was working on two unannounced titles for Xbox 360 and PS3. While the studio hasn’t released its own game, many team members contributed to games like Halo, Halo 2, Everquest and Medal of Honor. The publisher offered positions in other of its studios to the departing employees too.
For its third quarter, which will be announced on February 5th, THQ has increased its sales guidance to $509 million from $490 million. Just last week, THQ acquired strategy games developer Big Huge Games.
