THQ Nordic has been on a bit of a spending spree lately,acquiring a ton of small studiosto bolster its line up of games. Now, the publisher has acquired Warhorse Studios, the developer behind the ultra-realisticKingdom Come: Deliverancethat released nearly a year ago, making it the latest purchase in the recent spending spree.
THQ Nordic CEO Lars Wingfores stated that he was excited to “continue working with the founders who will continue managing the studio under strong creative freedom for many years to come.” This is a good sign for fans ofKingdom Come: Deliverance,as it means that the developer will likely retain the ability to direct its games however the team sees fit, which should help them continue to produce games likeKingdom Come.
THQ Nordic has managed to build itself an impressive portfolio over the past 12 months, beginning with theacquisition ofSaint’s Row publisher Koch Media. Since then, the company has purchased a diverse selection of intellectual property and development studios, including things likeKingdoms Of AmalurandTimesplitters.
It’ll be interesting to see how Warhorse Studios proceeds from here on out. The studio has put out several expansion packs forKingdom Come,so they may finally be looking to move on to their next game. What exactly a new game from the studio would look like is a mystery, but it sounds like their new owners intend to give them a generous amount of creative freedom, so the possibilities are pretty much endless for the studio.
Not every game THQ Nordic has put out has been great, includingDarksiders 3,but the publisher has had a clear vision for its future. While the company’s aspirations of becoming a bigger player in the industry are clear, it has a long journey of rebooting the IP it’s acquired before it’s regarded more seriously by the larger gaming audience. However, with the right luck and planning, the company may be able to grow to be the size of EA or Ubisoft.
