THQ Nordic Stands By Darksider 3

Darksiders 3 didn’t do terribly well as far as reviewers were concerned: the game ditched its Legend of Zelda roots and embraced something downright similar to Dark Souls, albeit with far simpler gameplay and a somehow more convoluted story. Unfortunately, these changes just didn’t grab game industry professionals the way the first two games did. But let it never be said reviewers are the final word on how well a game can do, because according to THQ, the game sold enough to recoup all the money spent on it, and will remain one of the publisher’s key pillars. There will even be DLC released for the game in the future, apparently.

The news comes to us from THQ Nordic’s financial reports, which were released recently. It obviously had more to say, although outside the Darksider news, most of it was rather dry, but not bad for the company. Net sales increased 441 percent, owned IPs represented 72 percent of their business, and two of the nine games they published in the fourth quarter were in their IP roster, which of course meant they’ll get a bigger cut of the revenue.

It also included this, as penned by CEO Lars Wingefors:

I see the gaming market as more vibrant than ever before. There is an ongoing shift in distribution platforms and technologies, involving both established companies and large new entrants. I am in general embracing new opportunities and technology advancements that will enable us to distribute our content more efficiently and to a broader base of fans and gamers. This will challenge established business models, make room for new business partnerships and present a wide array of new opportunities.

We are looking forward to our most exciting year ever. By the end of the quarter, we had a record 77 games under development. 48 of these are still in the pipeline waiting to be announced including a few that are scheduled for release in 2019.

No word yet on if they plan to capitalize on this success by laying off 800 employees.