THQ Looking to Sell Off Devil’s Third Before Its Launch

THQ has revealed that it’s looking to sell off the publishing rights to the Devil’s Third project, currently in development at Tomonobu Itagaki’s Valhalla Games, because it no longer fits the company’s “profitability profile.”

THQ announced a series of impressive titles last year, among which Devil’s Third, the first game coming from Valhalla Game Studios. This is a new Japanese developer owned by Tomonobu Itagaki, the designer of hit franchises like Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden.

While the game, which is set to appear next year, was coming along nicely, it seems that THQ is currently looking to sell the project to other publishers because of a series of unforeseen events.

"The profitability profile for Devil's Third no longer met our internal threshold and we are currently in discussions with third parties regarding the future of this title," said THQ’s President and CEO, Brian Farrell during the company’s recent financial earnings conference.

According to Farrell, THQ was forced to spend quite a lot of money on Devil’s Third after the company that was developing the engine for the game went bankrupt.

"There were a couple of unforeseen events that happened during the development of Devil's Third. One was the company that Valhalla was using for the engine went out of business, so we had to assist Itagaki and the team with a new engine – it took a fair amount of time and cost a fair amount of money."

This unforeseen spending, coupled with the appreciation of the Yen that results in increased development costs for Valhalla, is forcing THQ’s hands.

"We think it's an excellent franchise; we've really enjoyed working with Itagaki-san, and we're going to explore other opportunities with him and others to make sure this product comes to market."

THQ’s financial situation isn’t that great, so the company wants to get some money quick in order to help fund its upcoming sequels, instead of wasting its resources on all-new and unproven franchises like Devil’s Third.

Expect to hear more about the game in the near future.