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THQ Nordic AB – the holding company that owns publishers such as Koch Media, Deep Silver, Coffee Stain Holding, and THQ Nordic GmbH – is considering changing its name.
A suggestion to rebrand as Embracer Group AB has been proposed on the agenda of an upcoming shareholders meeting, which GI.biz reports is likely to go ahead, with 70 per cent of the company reportedly already in favour of making the amendment.
While the company has not explicitly detailed why it’s making the change, it’s thought the rebrand may be to distinguish it from its subsidiary publisher, THQ Nordic GmbH, perhaps following its subsidiary’s decision to host an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session on the 8chan website – a site banned from Google for grossly offensive material, including child pornography and hate speech – was almost universally condemned by the industry. THQ Nordic CEO and co-founder, Lars Wingefors, was forced to give his “sincerest apologies and regret for THQ Nordic’s interaction with the controversial website 8chan”.
A subsequent statement prepared by PR and marketing director, Philipp Brock – who said he “personally agreed” to work with 8chan – acknowledged he had not done “due diligence to understand the history and the controversy of the site”, but prior references to the site’s “nasty stuff” contradicted these claims.
THQ Nordic also announced earlier this week it has acquired Darksiders developer Gunfire Games for an undisclosed sum. The deal sees THQ Nordic acquire the rights to all IPs, including the studio’s upcoming game, Remnant: From the Ashes, which is expected to release as planned next week. Gunfire, which is currently based in Austin, Texas, will retain its 63 staff and continue to operate with David Adams as CEO.
Its indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary Koch Media also this week announced it is acquiring racing specialist studio, Milestone, for €44.9 million in cash. The agreement will see Koch acquire the development studio and all intellectual property rights.
