It would seem THQ have reached the end of the road, at least in the shape of the company we knew. They have filed for Chapter 11 in America, while revealing that an unnamed buyer (dealing through middleman Clearlake) is picking up all assets including THQ's four studios - Vigil, Relic, Volition and THQ Montreal (although the Canadian studios aren't included in the Chapter 11 filing).
The wording in the press statement makes it sound as if the move is just a means to "facilitate the sale", but the truth of the matter is that THQ ran out of funds and were unable to continue their operations. This move ensures that they can continue to operate while the sale of the assets is being finalised.
Naturally the sale is open to challenge and there is a period were others can step in with higher bids for the THQ operations - the deal also rests on fact that the creditors will accept only being paid a fraction of what THQ owns them.
"The sale and filing are necessary next steps to complete THQ's transformation and position the company for the future, as we remain confident in our existing pipeline of games, the strength of our studios and THQ's deep bench of talent," said Brian Farrell, Chairman and CEO of THQ. "We are grateful to our outstanding team of employees, partners and suppliers who have worked with us through this transition. We are pleased to have attracted a strong financial partner for our business, and we hope to complete the sale swiftly to make the process as seamless as possible."
According to Jason Rubin, who joined THQ as President last May, "We have incredible, creative talent here at THQ. We look forward to partnering with experienced investors for a new start as we will continue to use our intellectual property assets to develop high-quality core games, create new franchise titles, and drive demand through both traditional and digital channels."
Remains to be seen what kind of impact has on games in development. The new owner of THQ's assets hopes to take over contracts with independent developers (presumably the likes of Obsidian for South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Crytek for Homefront 2, and 4A Games with Metro: Last Light to name a few), but we can expect delays (at the very least) as a result of this - so don't expect to see Company of Heroes 2 in March.