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THQ Nordic

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Nordic Games Group AB
Company typePublic
IndustryComputer and video game industry
PredecessorJoWooD Entertainment
DreamCatcher Interactive
THQ
Founded1993
FounderLars Wingefors
Headquarters
Karlstad
,
Sweden
ProductsArcania series
Darksiders series
Painkiller series
SpellForce series
The Guild series
Red Faction series
DivisionsDreamCatcher Interactive
JoWooD Entertainment
The Adventure Company
THQ
SubsidiariesNordic Games GmbH
Nordic Games NA Inc.
Quantic Lab
Game Stores Scandinavia AB
Game Outlet Europe AB
Grimlore Games
Rainbow Studios
WebsiteNordic Games

Nordic Games is a Swedish computer game publisher and retail company based in Karlstad, Sweden. Its core portfolio comprises products and brands which were acquired from JoWooD Entertainment and DreamCatcher Interactive in 2011 and from THQ in 2014.

History

At the beginning of the 1990s, Lars Wingefors founded a company named LW Comics to sell and trade secondhand comic books. In 1993 the focus of that company shifted to video games, again starting as a mail-order retailer for secondhand software and cartridges, finally becoming Nordic Games. Over the years the company added new goods to its portfolio and established several stores over the Finnish and Scandinavian area.[1] In 2000 British retailer Gameplay.com (later renamed to Game) acquired Nordic Games for £5.96 million.[2] After the dot-com bubble Wingefors re-acquired the Nordic retail division from financially troubled Gameplay for 1 Swedish Krona or 7 pence.[3] In 2004, the company started with a new outlet store concept. In 2008, Nordic Games entered game development by creating its own publishing branch Nordic Games Publishing in order to create products for its outlet stores. Some minor success was the singing game series We Sing for the Wii console.[1]

On August 16, 2011 Nordic Games Holding announced that it had acquired assets from JoWooD, its products and brands, including The Adventure Company.[4] Following the acquisition it was announced that JoWooD and The Adventure Company will become publishing labels for Nordic Games GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nordic Games Holding.[5] Today, Nordic Games Austria is handling most of Nordic Games' releases, licensing deals are handled by the Swedish Nordic Games Licensing AB.

In February 2012, Nordic Games took over the boxed release of Alan Wake from Remedy Entertainment for PC.[6] In May 2012, Nordic Games acquired 55 shops and the online store for Sweden and Norway from Game.[7]

In April 2013, Nordic Games acquired the remaining properties still owned by the bankrupt American video game publisher THQ as part of the company's liquidation, including the Darksiders, Red Faction, and MX vs. ATV franchises. Nordic plans to find new distribution channels for some of its newly acquired properties, and has considered the third-party development of new installments.[8] On June 12, 2014, it was also announced that Nordic Games had acquired the THQ trademarks, allowing the company to use the THQ brand as an imprint on future games.[9] In November, it also acquired the rights to the THQ series de Blob.[10]

From Atari, SA, Nordic Games bought the rights to the Desperados series and Silver in June 2013.[11][12] In April 2014 it took over the rights to the adventure series The Black Mirror from bankrupt German publisher dtp entertainment.[13] It was followed by the acquisition of dtp's licenses for The Moment of Silence, The Mystery of the Druids and Curse of the Ghost Ship, originally created by German developer House of Tales, as well as the commercial rights for the trademarks Overclocked: A History of Violence and 15 Days.[14][15]

In July 2015, Nordic Games and Piranha Bytes announced an upcoming sci-fi action RPG known as ELEX.[16] The following month, Nordic acquired a number of franchises from BitComposer Interactive, including Jagged Alliance and The Great Giana Sisters.[17] In February 2016, Nordic acquired intellectual property from Digital Reality.[18]

Upcoming games by Nordic Games

Title Release Platform Notes
ELEX 2016/2017 Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One Developed by Piranha Bytes[19]
AquaNox: Deep Descent 2017 Windows [20]
SpellForce 3 2017[21] Windows, Linux [22] Developed by Grimlore Games[23]
The Guild 3 TBA Windows
Battle Chasers: Nightwar 2016 Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS [24] Developed by Airship Syndicate[25]

Key Franchises/IPs

Title Latest Release Genre Origin
Aquanox 2002 Action Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
The Guild 2010 Life simulation/RTS Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
Legend of Kay 2010 Action-adventure Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
ArcaniA 2011 Action RPG Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
SpellForce 2014 RTS/RPG Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
Yoga Wii 2009 Fitness game Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
Panzer Elite 2007 Simulation Acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
Painkiller 2013 Shooter Acquired from DreamCatcher Interactive
Safecracker 2010 Adventure (point and click) Acquired from DreamCatcher Interactive
Titan Quest 2007 Action role-playing (hack and slash) Acquired from THQ
Darksiders 2012 Action-adventure, hack and slash Acquired from THQ
Red Faction 2011 Shooter Acquired from THQ
MX vs. ATV 2014 Racing Acquired from THQ
Frontlines: Fuel of War 2008 Shooter Acquired from THQ
Juiced 2007 Racing Acquired from THQ
Stuntman 2007 Racing/Action Acquired from THQ
Destroy All Humans! 2008 Action-adventure Acquired from THQ
Deadly Creatures 2009 Action Acquired from THQ
Full Spectrum Warrior 2006 Action Acquired from THQ
The Outfit 2006 Action Acquired from THQ
Summoner 2002 Role-playing Acquired from THQ
De Blob 2011 Platform/Puzzle Acquired from THQ
Silver 2000 Action role-playing (hack and slash) Acquired from Atari[26]
Desperados 2005 Real-time tactics Acquired from Atari[26]
Men of Valor 2004 First-person shooter Acquired from 2015, Inc.
Nexus: The Jupiter Incident 2005 Space combat simulator, Real-time tactics Acquired from HD Interactive

Release history

Title Release Genre Platforms Note
A Vampire Tale 2012 Point-and-click adventure Windows
Alan Wake 2012 Action-adventure Windows Boxed version publishing
Alan Wake's American Nightmare 2012 Action-adventure Windows Boxed version publishing
Arcania: Fall of Setarrif 2011 Action RPG Windows Finished game acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
Arcania: The Complete Tale 2013 Action RPG Xbox 360, PS3
Darksiders 2: Deathinitive Edition 2015 Action role-playing PlayStation 4, Xbox One Remastered version of Darksiders II
Deadfall Adventures 2013 Action Windows, Linux, Xbox 360, PS3
Dungeon Lords MMXII 2012 RPG Windows Reworked version of Dungeon Lords
Legend of Kay Anniversary Edition 2015 Windows, Wii U, Mac [27]
MX vs. ATV Supercross 2014 Racing Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 [28]
Ori and the Blind Forest 2016 Action-adventure Windows Acquired PC Distribution Rights from Microsoft
Painkiller: Recurring Evil 2012 Action Windows Small add-on for digital distribution
Painkiller: Hell & Damnation 2012 (PC)
2013 (X360, PS3)		 Action Windows, Linux, Mac, Xbox 360, PS3
The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief 2013 Point-and-click adventure Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox 360
Rochard 2012 Platformer Windows, Mac, Linux Boxed version
Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown 2015 Windows Release of the boxed version for the game.[29]
SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past 2014 RTS / RPG Windows Expansion pack
SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny 2012 RTS / RPG Windows Development completed after acquired from JoWooD Entertainment
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2012 Adventure Windows, Mac, Linux Steam release
The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles 2012 Adventure Windows, Mac, Linux Steam release
The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 2015 Adventure Windows, Mac, Linux Sequel to The Book of Unwritten Tales
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter[30] 2014 Adventure Windows, PS4 PlayStation 4 release in 2015

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Nordic Games Group". nordicgamesgroup.com.
  2. ^ "Gameplay.com buys Nordic Games". This is Money.
  3. ^ "Gameplay division sold for £1". theregister.co.uk.
  4. ^ "JoWooD & The Adventure Company, wholly owned labels of Nordic Games". Nordic Games. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Nordic Games Holding AB Group Acquires JoWooD & The Adventure Company". Nordic Games. 2011-08-16. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Richard Mitchell. "Alan Wake getting boxed PC version from Nordic Games". Engadget.
  7. ^ "Publisher Nordic Games buys GAME's Scandinavian business". GamesIndustry.biz.
  8. ^ "The future of Darksiders, Red Faction and THQ's other IP at Nordic Games". Polygon. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  9. ^ "THQ trademark acquired by Nordic Games". Polygon. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  10. ^ Mike Suszek. "Nordic officially purchases de Blob series from THQ". Engadget.
  11. ^ Linken, Andre (2013-06-25). "Nordic Games - Publisher sichert sich die Rechte an Desperados und Silver". Gamestar (in German). IDG. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  12. ^ Samit Sarkar. "Nordic Games acquires rights to Atari's Desperados and Silver". Polygon.
  13. ^ "Black Mirror - Nordic Games übernimmt Adventure-Marke". GameStar.de. 11 April 2014.
  14. ^ "Nordic Games GmbH: "The Moment of Silence" und andere dtp-Lizenzen gekauft - 4Players.de". 4Players.
  15. ^ Mike Suszek. "Nordic acquires adventure games from Awesomenauts publisher". Engadget.
  16. ^ "ELEX is the next game from the studio behind Risen". Polygon. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  17. ^ "Nordic swoops for BitComposer licenses, including Jagged Alliance". MCVUK. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  18. ^ "Nordic Games buys Digital Reality IP including Sine Mora". MCVUK. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  19. ^ elexgame.com
  20. ^ "Aquanox: Deep Descent Preview". GameStar.de. 16 August 2014.
  21. ^ "SpellForce 3 on Steam". Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Nordic Games @ GamesCom 2014 - Facebook". facebook.com.
  23. ^ "Grimlore Games to develop SpellForce 3". Nordic Games. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  24. ^ http://www.battlechasers.com/game
  25. ^ "TEAM". Battle Chasers. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  26. ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (24 June 2013). "Nordic Games, the company that now owns Darksiders, snaps up Atari IPs Desperados and Silver". Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  27. ^ Nintendo Life. "Cult PlayStation 2 Title Legend Of Kay Is Getting Remastered On Wii U". Nintendo Life.
  28. ^ "Nordic Games GmbH - Fresh From Austria - Latest News - MX vs. ATV Series To Be Resurrected By Nordic Games". nordicgames.at.
  29. ^ "Nordic Games GmbH - Fresh From Austria - Latest News - Nordic Games teams up with Cliffhanger Productions to distribute Shadowrun". nordicgames.at.
  30. ^ "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - PC". IGN. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
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