Nordic Games mulls future of Darksiders IP

Business

August 24, 2013

Nordic Games acquired some intellectual property from the defunct publisher THQ, which filed for bankruptcy in December 2012.

Nordic Games purchased a number of franchises for a cool US $4.9 million, including Darksiders, MX vs ATV, Red Faction, and Titan Quest, to name a few. The publisher hoped to have some new announcements at Gamescom this year, but didn’t show up with anything new.

Speaking to JoyStiq on the expo floor, Nordic Games Business and Product Development head, Reinhard Pollice, said that the company was still looking at how they could use the IP and were also still gathering up all the information and assets tied to their purchase.

“It takes longer than expected getting everything together because THQ, there are not a lot of people there,” said Pollice. “There are just like five people and they’re mostly financial and administration guys. So the stuff that we need is really hard to get. I’ve been visiting them a lot of times, trying to make sure we get everything that we actually want, or that we should get.”

Darksiders 2

Pollice mooted rumors of a new Darksiders, saying that a sequel is probably a good few years out. The development team has split up quite far, with some of the crucial members even being snapped up by Crytek. Their focus is on the IP that gained the largest fan base and continues to thrive, and the likely candidate for a sequel is MX vs ATV.

“There is just a big community waiting for the next stuff for that. We’re currently working with former Rainbow Studios people to evaluate what’s possible, how to drive it further. We think this can be something where we can start something more recently in time.”

Pollice also said that Nordic Games has been in contact with Sony and Microsoft and has development kits for both next-generation consoles. They are waiting until the next-gen hits a viable mass, at which time they’ll announce games or development of new titles. Considering the incredible popularity and support for the next generation of consoles, those announcements may be made at E3 next year.