Vente de THQ aux enchères: de grands gagnants et de grands perdants (mise à jour)

Le grand éditeur et développeur californien de jeux vidéo THQ vient de rendre son dernier souffle. Ayant fait faillite le 19 décembre 2012, le studio a, hier après-midi, procédé à la vente aux enchères de la plupart de ses franchises, vente qui s'est conclue cet après-midi.

De par ces résultats, nous avons pu prendre connaissance d’un nouveau jeu qui était en développement chez THQ Montréal dénommé Underdog.

Ubisoft aura remporté l’enchère pour THQ Montréal, gagnant le studio et les jeux Underdog ainsi que 1666 pour 2.5 millions de dollars. Un autre jeu aura eu son existence reconfirmée par l’enchère des franchises de THQ. Dénommé Evolve (et aussi connu sous le nom de Metamorphosis) et développé par Turtle Rock Studios, ce jeu qui tournera apparemment sur le CryEngine 3.

Si vous êtes curieux, voici les enchères remportées jusqu’à maintenant:

Studio Relic et la franchise Company of Heroes

Mise remportée: 26.6 millions – Sega Corporation
Mise de soutien: 26.3 millions – Zenimax Media

Studio THQ Montreal et les jeux 1666 et Underdog

Mise remportée: 2.5 millions – Ubisoft
Mise de soutien: Aucune

Le jeu Evolve (Metamorphosis)

Mise remportée: 10.894 millions – Take-Two Interactive
Mise de soutien: 250,000$ – Turtle Rock Studios, Inc.

Le studio Volition et la franchise Saints Row

Mise remportée: 22.3 millions – Koch Media GmbH (Deep Silver)
Mise de soutien : 5.4 millions – Ubisoft

La franchise Homefront

Mise remportée: 544,218$ – Crytek GmbH
Mise de soutien:  Aucune

La franchise Metro, incluant 2033 et 2034

Mise remportée: 5,877,551$ – Koch Media GmbH (Deep Silver)
Mise de soutien: 5.175 millions – Ubisoft

Le jeu South Park: The Stick of Truth

Mise remportée: 3,265,306$ – Ubisoft
Mise de soutien: non disponible
 
Cela signifie donc que personne n’a misé afin d’acquérir la franchise Darksiders et le studio Vigil Games, ce qui est tout de même surprenant. Malgré le pauvre succès commercial qu’a connu le second volet de cette série, il est étonnant que personne ne se soit montré intéressé à en faire son acquisition afin de la développer davantage ou encore à reprendre le studio l’ayant conçue. De même, personne n’a déposé d’offre dans le but d’obtenir les droits afin de développer et distribuer des jeux basés sur la WWE. Toutefois, le mécontentement du président de la WWE, Vince McMahon, a probablement refroidi l’ardeur d’acheteurs potentiels.

En terminant, voici la lettre écrite par Jason Rubin, président de THQ, et qui fut envoyée à tous ses employés:

To All THQ Employees:
We now have the answers we’ve been seeking through our financial restructuring and Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction that occurred t:

• Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business, along with Clearlake’s offer, and numerous offers for separate assets.
• During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority of the company.
• Shortly, we will, present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must concur with our assessment.
• The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :
• Sega agreed to purchase Relic
• Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
• Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
• Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve and
• Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park

We expect these sales to close this week.
Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

What this means for employees
We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of your employment with THQ.

If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers.

We know you will have many questions about this news. We’ll be meeting tomorrow when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.

A personal note
The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative, artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have accomplished despite today’s outcome.

It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be operating as part of new organizations.

For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you take the next steps in your career.
Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Brian Farrell Chief Executive Officer
Jason Rubin President

Mise à jour: Selon des rumeurs, Take-Two serait en bonne position pour acquérir les droits de la franchise WWE de THQ. En fait, selon une source du site IGN, les négociations entre THQ et Take-Two se sont déroulées à l’extérieur de la mise aux enchères des actifs de la compagnie.

D’autre part, Vigil Games a bel et bien fermé ses portes, aucune firme n’ayant démontré de l’intérêt pour l’acquérir. Le designer Ben Cureton a annoncé la triste nouvelle en indiquant que les bureaux du studio ont été vidés plus tôt dans la journée et que l’ambiance qui y régnait « était semblable à celle d’une zone d’après-guerre ». Cureton a tout de même tenu à remercier les fans ayant supporté Vigil Games ainsi que la franchise Darksiders et a affirmé qu’il continuera à concevoir des jeux, lui qui est dans l’industrie du jeu vidéo depuis plus de 20 ans.