THQ Nordic is as busy as ever. The publisher formerly known as Nordic Games reported solid growth for the first quarter of its fiscal 2020. Sales were up 36%, and it hits 5 cents earnings per share. And as usual, the company is making a lot of news about its plans for the future. That includes what it plans to do with Saints Row and TimeSplitters.
Lars Wingefors, THQ Nordic’s chief executive officer, has made a number of new acquisitions. Darksiders III developer Gunfire Games is now under THQ Nordic ownership. And THQ Nordic has also bought MotoGP 19 studio Milestone.
Gunfire and Milestone join a lengthy list of THQ Nordic acquisitions that include developers like JoWood, HandyGames, and Deep Silver. The publisher has also purchased the rights to a huge number of intellectual properties including Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Alone in the Dark, and TimeSplitters.
The future of TimeSplitters and Saints Row
Speaking of TimeSplitters and developer Deep Silver, THQ Nordic gave some updates on both.
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TimeSplitters was a PlayStation 2 and GameCube-era shooter from developer Free Radical Design. Many of the key team members on the Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark games at Rare founded Free Radical, and TimeSplitters continued that gameplay legacy.
Now, THQ Nordic is bringing back some of that talent to help figure out where to take the franchise.
“Last year Deep Silver acquired the much-loved TimeSplitters IP,” Lars Wingefors said in a statement. “We’re delighted to announce that one of the series’ creators, Steve Ellis, has joined us to help plot the future course for this franchise.”
As for what’s next for Saints Row, THQ Nordic confirmed a sequel is coming.
“Volition is deep in development of a brand-new Saints Row game,” said Wingefors. “This is the first full entry in this much loved series since Saints Row IV was released in 2013.”
Volition launched a standalone Saints Row expansion called Gat Out of Hell in 2015. And it then focused on the spinoff shooter Agents of Mayhem in 2017. Following weak sales for Agents of Mayhem, however, Volition laid off some of its staff.
A return to Saints Row could put the studio back on track. Saints Row IV sold 1 million copies in its first week.
