THQ AND GAMES WORKSHOP GROUP PLC ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE WARHAMMER® 40,000™ LICENSING AGREEMENT
Renewal Agreement Expanded to Include All Online Rights Including MMO
AGOURA
HILLS, Calif., March 1, 2007 – THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced
that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement
with Games Workshop (LSE: GAW – News) for the Warhammer® 40,000™
franchise through 2013. The agreement serves to both extend and expand
upon THQ’s previous agreement with Games Workshop for the Warhammer
40,000 license, which encompassed interactive rights to console and
handheld systems, as well as Windows PC. Additional rights under the
newly announced agreement include wireless devices and all online
rights, including massively multiplayer (MMO) games. It also includes
the same rights to Games Workshop’s Gorkamorka and Necromunda
properties.
THQ also announced that its
Austin, Texas based studio, Vigil Games, is in development on the first
MMO based on the Warhammer 40,000 franchise.
THQ’s
critically acclaimed Warhammer®: 40,000™: Dawn of War™ franchise now
boasts more than 2 million units in sales worldwide with the release of
hybrid expansion Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War™ – Dark Crusade™ last
fall. The franchise has received numerous accolades since its 2004
debut, including Game of the Year and Editor’s Choice Awards, in
addition to selection as an Official World Cyber Games title in 2005
and 2006.
“Our success in creating
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War as a category leading Real-Time Strategy
experience for PC gamers is just the beginning,” said Kelly Flock,
executive vice president of worldwide publishing, THQ. “The Warhammer
40,000 universe provides a richness of worlds, characters and stories
and level of depth that translates perfectly to interactive experiences
across multiple genres and systems. We see a lot of opportunity to
build new and different games based on Games Workshop’s fantastic
property in the coming years, beginning with our newly announced MMO.”
“We
are delighted to be able to announce the extension of our very
successful partnership with THQ,” said Andy Jones, Head of Group Legal
and Licensing for Games Workshop. “By creating such vibrant and
ground-breaking games based on our long-established worlds, stories and
characters, THQ can introduce the Warhammer 40,000 Intellectual
Property to a whole new audience, while providing our existing
Hobbyists with an exciting new way to interact with the dark and gothic
universe which they already know and love.”