THQ Nordic appears to be unstoppable right now. Along with acquiring multiple studios and developers in the past two years, as well as raking in on enormous profits, the publishing giant’s grand master plan of owning plethora of small/big studios is paying off. Their 2018 financial report has come in, and the results are staggering. According to the report, THQ Nordic’s year-on-year intake went from $55.1 million to $447.6 million, a 713% increase, and an absolutely unbelievable turnaround for the company.
Most of these numbers are attributed to the strong sales the company experienced in the late quarter of 2018, as they brought in well over $59.9 million. THQ Nordic’s proprietary titles accounted for 64% of that amount, coming in at $38.2 million, while First Party developers, Deep Silver and Coffee Stain accounted for the rest at $20.3 million and 1.5 million a piece. CEO Lars Wingefors stated that he was looking forward to repeat success in 2019; “We look 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.”
As if to drive this point home, Wingefors also announced the first acquisition of 2019, Warhorse Studios, who is known for the video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance. In addition to the studio, THQ Nordic will also acquire all of the rights to current and future IP’s that the developer has. Kingdom Come: Deliverance released to generally favorable reviews, as well as selling over 2 million copies, making THQ Nordic’s purchase that much more lucrative.
As with their other studios, Warhorse will be allowed to operate independently, merely operating under the THQ Nordic umbrella. 2018 turned into a stellar year for the publisher, and they’ve already made strides to ensure that 2019 will be just as great. We won’t have to wait long to see the fruits of their labor, as one of their titles, Metro Exodus, is launching this week, along with three other AAA titles simultaneously.