Investor reports are a great way for stakeholders to learn how their money is performing, but more importantly to the rest of us: it's also a great opportunity to learn just what exactly a publisher has in its pipeline in terms of ongoing projects and upcoming releases. This is of course no exception when it comes to the sprawling empirical entity known as THQ Nordic and its ever-growing portfolio of IP's and studios. With that, Let's go ahead down the list of things the company revealed today:
Dead Island 2 is still happening. Yes, the very same one that was unveiled back in 2014, and had a scheduled release for the following year. Its development has been seemingly tumultuous thus far to say the least, having been previously helmed by Yager Studios (of Spec Ops: The Line fame) and then passed along to Sumo Digital - whose work on the title apparently just recently wrapped up. As of today, Dead Island 2 has now changed hands a whopping three times with its transition over to Dambuster Studios. Since Dead Island 2's initial reveal, we've received a spiritual successor of sorts with Dying Light and a confirmed sequel is well on its way. That said, it will be interesting to see what Dead Island 2 will look like when it does finally release, and what it plans to do - if anything - to set itself apart from its more successful predecessor.
A new Saints Row is in the works. This probably shouldn't come as a surprise since Volition's more whacky take on the open-world genre has historically performed well and serves as one of the only successful attempt at replicating Grand Theft Auto's formula. We haven't received an entry in the main series since 2013's Saints Row IV, and with its studio's brief identity lapse that resulted in the comparatively disappointing Agents of Mayhem, me thinks a new one is long overdue. Unfortunately, no additional details were provided in regards to what we can expect from the tentatively titled Saints Row 5, aside from it being "deep in development".
The last semi-concrete piece of news to come out of THQ Nordic's report is their recent hiring of Steve Ellis - whose most notable contribution to gaming was his involvement in the creation of the TimeSplitters series.
"We're delighted to announce that one of the series' creators, Steve Ellis, has joined us to help plot the future course for this franchise", the report reads. That, coupled with the fact that the company acquired the TimeSplitter's IP from Cryteck last year means that a new TimeSplitters game is all but guaranteed.
