THQ UK studio officially shuttered, three new companies take its place
Posted by Joystiq Jul 13 2011 21:30 GMT in Xbox Live Arcade
- Like?
It's been exactly one month to the day since THQ announced plans to close both Kaos Studios (creator of Homefront) and its UK-based digital studio, THQ Warrington (creator of Red Faction Battlegrounds and Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team). And while the former studio has been closed since last month, the latter has just finished up its legally required "notification process." But enough with the upsetting stuff -- there's good news, too!

Though the Warrington studio just closed, three companies have already sprung from its ashes: D3T, a "concept team" named Alien Apple Studios, and an unnamed studio helmed by former creative director Don Whiteford and former production director Richard Badger.

Of the approximately 50 employees at THQ Warrington when it closed, 36 had their employment terminated "effective immediately," while another 10 are said to be seeing the studio through the PSN release of Warhammer 40K: Kill Team, set for some point later this summer. Additionally, THQ Warrington founder Colin Bell will be taking an extended break from game development, though he couldn't help but point out before leaving that the Juiced franchise (which his team developed) has moved "over 5 million" units in its lifetime, and that Kill Team "will be a great parting product for the studio."

Sony UK and Motorstorm studio Evolution have apparently extended offers to some ex-THQ employees for consultancy work, and we have high hopes that the rest of the studio's affected devs will land on their feet.



Sign-in to post a reply.