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THQ has acquired the rights to the sci-fi action-adventure IP, Outcast.
Out in 1999, Outcast – an action-adventure video game developed by Appeal – was released to critical acclaim, but the planned sequel stalled when the studio declared bankruptcy in 2002. A remaster of the original title released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2017. As yet, THQ Nordic has not expanded on its plans for the franchise, nor indicated if it had plans to develop a sequel.
"THQ Nordic today announced that the acquisition of the intellectual property Outcast has been finalised with the three original creators of the game," said a brief statement by the company. "The acquisition itself is being handled by THQ Nordic AB, based in Karlstad, Sweden, and daily operations (sales and distribution, evaluation of sequels & new content etc.) will be done via THQ Nordic GmbH in Vienna, Austria."
It comes after a number of notable acquisitions by THQ Nordic, including Goat Simulator developer Coffee Stain Studios, and racing games specialist Bugbear Entertainment back in November 2018, as well as the rights to Act of War, Alone in the Dark, Carmageddon, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, Second Sight, and TimeSplitters.
Sweden-based Coffee Stain was acquired for SEK 317m (£26.8m), which includes both its developing and publishing arms, plus the intellectual property rights to Satisfactory, Goat Simulator, Sanctum and publishing rights to Deep Rock Galactic. The announcement added that THQ Nordic expects the studio to grow and make SEK 200-250m (£16.9m to £21.1m) in net sales in the next financial year (April 2019 to March 2020). As a comparison, Coffee Stain made about SEK 53m (£4.4m) in the nine months period ended in September 2018.
Those acquisitions were announced as THQ Nordic unveiled its financial results for Q3 2018, with net sales up an impressive 1,403 per cent year-on-year, reaching SEK 1,272.7m (£108m).
