Type Subsidiary Area served Worldwide Parent THQ Nordic AB Founder Lars Wingefors | Industry Video game industry Number of employees 84 (2016) Headquarters Vienna, Austria Key people Lars Wingefors | |
Products AquaNox series
Darksiders series
MX vs. ATV series
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation
SpellForce series
The Guild 3 Formerly called Nordic Games GmbH (2011–2016) Stock price TH9 (FRA) € 3.94 -0.06 (-1.40%)4 Apr, 5:18 PM GMT+2 - Disclaimer Founded 23 June 2011, Vienna, Austria Subsidiaries NovaLogic, Rainbow Studios Video games Red Faction, MX vs ATV Supercross, We Sing, Darksiders III, Full Spectrum Warrior Profiles | ||
THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher, based in Vienna, Austria. The company was founded in 2011 by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Eric Olof Wingefors. Its core portfolio comprises products and brands which were acquired from other large publishers, such as from JoWooD Entertainment and its former subsidiary DreamCatcher Interactive in 2011, from THQ in 2011, and from Digital Reality and NovaLogic in 2016.
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As part of its acquisition of THQ, Nordic Games also took over video game developer THQ Digital Phoenix, in 2013, and renamed it back to its original name, Rainbow Studios, in 2015. In December 2013, they opened an original game studio, Grimlore Games, in Munich. In August 2016, Nordic Games changed its name to THQ Nordic, using the THQ trademark they had acquired previously, to regain its association with their franchises acquired from THQ.
Beginnings (1990–2011)
In 1990, Swedish entrepreneur Lars Eric Olof Wingefors founded LW Comics AB, a company to sell and trade second-hand comic books. In 1993, the company's focus shifted towards video games, becoming a mail-order retailer for secondhand software and cartridges, and finally Nordic Games AB. Its headquarters are located in Karlstad, Sweden. Over the years, the company added new goods to its portfolio, and established several stores over Scandinavia. In 2000, British retailer Gameplay.com acquired Nordic Games for GB£5.96 million in shares. After the dot-com bubble, Wingefors re-acquired the Nordic retail division from financially troubled Gameplay for 1 kr. In 2004, the company started with a new outlet store concept. In 2008, Nordic Games entered game development by creating its own publishing branch, Nordic Games Publishing AB, in order to create products for its outlet stores.
Nordic Games GmbH (2011–2016)
In 2011, Lars Wingefors founded Nordic Games GmbH as a Europe-wide video game publisher. On 16 August 2011, it was announced that the new company had acquired assets from JoWooD Entertainment: its products, brands, and subsidiary DreamCatcher Interactive, including its The Adventure Company division. Effectively, JoWooD, DreamCatcher and The Adventure company would further be used as labels of Nordic Games.
In April 2013, Nordic Games acquired all properties still in the possession of American video game publisher THQ, which had filed for bankruptcy that year, for US$4.9 million. Included in the deal were over 150 individual games, including the Darksiders, Red Faction, and MX vs. ATV franchises. On 12 June 2014, Nordic Games announced that they had also acquired the THQ trademark, allowing the company to use the THQ brand as an imprint on future games.
In June 2013, Nordic Games acquried the Desperados franchise, consisting of Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive, Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge, and Helldorado, as well as the game Silver, from Atari, SA. In May 2014, they acquired the games The Moment of Silence, The Mystery of the Druids and Curse of the Ghost Ship, as well as the commercial rights for the trademarks Overclocked: A History of Violence and 15 Days, from bankrupt German publisher DTP Entertainment.
In December 2013, Grimlore Games GmbH, located in Munich, Germany, was founded as in-house studio of Nordic Games. Headed by former staff of now-closed studio Coreplay, it is developing SpellForce 3, scheduled to release in 2017.
In July 2015, Nordic Games and Piranha Bytes announced science fiction action role-playing game ELEX. The following month, Nordic Games acquired a number of franchises from bankrupt German publisher bitComposer Entertainment, including the Jagged Alliance franchise. In February 2016, they acquired all intellectual property from Hungarian publisher Digital Reality, including Sine Mora.
THQ Nordic (2016–present)
On 12 August 2016, Nordic Games announced that it had changed its name to THQ Nordic. Wingefors explained that the THQ brand was still widely associated with some of the franchises that his company had acquired, and that the move was intended to give the company better name recognition, reflecting a goal to "shape our business in a meaningful way going forward" using its acquired properties. He went on to state that "on a personal note, having worked in the industry since 1993, I have a lot of respect for what THQ accomplished in the video game marketplace. Their licensed and eventually hardcore games portfolio provided a lot of fun to millions of players, including me." He also stated that THQ Nordic had 23 games in development, with many based on former THQ properties.
On, 31 October 2016, THQ Nordic announced that they had acquired all intellectual property and assets from now-defunct NovaLogic, including Delta Force. On 5 December 2016, THQ Nordic announced that they had acquired Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy from Mobile Gaming Studios, and Legends of War and War Leaders: Clash of Nations from Enigma Software Productions.
On January 6, 2017, the German game ratings board Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) rated Lock's Quest for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC which indicated that the publisher was developing a port for the game. and on 16 February 2017, THQ Nordic officially announced that they were developing a remaster for Lock's Quest scheduled for April 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC with remastering development by Digital Continue.
On March 1st 2017, THQ Nordic announced that Baja: Edge of Control will be remastered as Baja: Edge of Control HD for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with 4K compatibility and improved rendering techniques for shadows, lighting and dust effects, and on March 3rd 2017, THQ Nordic unveiled De Blob for Microsoft Windows, ported by BlitWorks, and Sine Mora EX, an extended version of Sine Mora for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Both games were surprise announcements to debut in PAX East 2017. On March 31 2017, THQ Nordic announced that they acquired the Rad Rogers intellectual property from Slipgate Studios. Through the acquisition, THQ Nordic will complete development of the game and publish it for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Rad Rogers was a kickstarted video game inspired by retro platformers such as Commander Keen, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Ruff 'n' Tumble and Jazz Jackrabbit. Frederik Schreiber from Slipgate Studios commented by saying that they were “Happy to let THQ Nordic take over this, as we have the feeling they do not just buy games, but do take good care of them too.”.