Publisher continues core-gaming push by signing Turtle Rock Studios' next project, due in 2013; title to have multiplayer emphasis.
The past several years have seen THQ beef up its core game offerings with such titles as Saints Row, Red Faction: Guerilla, Homefront, and the forthcoming inSane and Devil's Third. The company continued that trend today by announcing a deal with Turtle Rock Studios, which created the award-winning shooter Left 4 Dead for Valve Corporation. The publisher and studio are collaborating on an all-new a first-person shooter with a 2013 release date. No platforms were mentioned.
The new project was not named, but it was described as having a multiplayer focus THQ hopes will be as influential as that of Left 4 Dead. The latter game had a heavy emphasis on cooperative play as it followed a quartet of zombie apocalypse survivors who must help each other to fight off undead hordes. The new game will not be part of THQ's lineup at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo.
THQ's announcement comes in the wake of Turtle Rock splitting off from Valve, which purchased the studio in January 2008. Once referred to as Valve South, the Lake Forest, California studio now describes itself as an "independent studio" that once collaborated with the suburban Seattle developer of Portal 2 and Half-Life 2.
I'm a little skeptical about this. THQ are starting to pull some BS, along with Codemasters. They've been discussing selling their games unfinished then making you pay for the rest as DLC. I urge you to do some damn research before buying this and if THQ try strong-arming you or resorting to unsavory tactics then DO NOT BUY. Here's hoping everything goes well, though.
Valve actually bought and owned Turtle Rock for a while, after they'd been doing Left 4 Dead, but Turtle Rock is now indie again (Valve owns the Left 4 Dead IP, though). Good for them in going indie again, and I wish them luck with their new game!
no platforms mentioned??? ...does this mean the next generation might have a say in this game too?
L4D is possibly one of the most intense and visceral gaming experiences ive experienced in a 'very' long time. This should be interesting.
So if Im right, a studio formerly working for VALVe, who gots it's games published by EA, is now going to THQ? Well I don't think L4D3 will be made now, so I hope their new FPS may replace the great co-op fun I had. Maybe Dead Island is an alternative?
I don't know how much more you can improve on L4D this isn't new characters, enemies, and new maps. Glad to see they are doing something kind of new.
Nice to see THQ embracing the new IP mindset. Several of their newer properties have been successes. And as these properties continue to evolve and grow, one of them is bound to pop big. I wish this company luck going forward.
I really hope they've been making Left For Dead 3 and not have spent all their time on Mutations and a few extra maps that they've released. I also hope this doesn't mean the end to the L4D series.
turtle rock studios shoud get the rights to tweak and finish division 9. the unreleased zombie game by the swat 4 developers left4dead was based on. if they did there would no longer be that slow walking crap from swat that was going to be in division 9 as seen on the gameplay video released on youtube. also funny how valve gives almost to credit on the box of left4dead to turtle rock. i noticed the same thing when i bought blue castle's left4dead 2 and there was the capcom logos but no mention of the developer anywhere to be found...
@Jurassic85 No, Valve probably owns it and can make more. They just didnt initially concept it and make the first builds, etc.
Left 4 Dead is single-handedly responsible for making Zombies scary again to me. A friend of mine at work had the game from launch and I hadn't bothered, and he kept telling me about it. Finally, I gave in and picked it up, expecting the typical moaning, head-tilted slow shuffling zombies to come sauntering up to me.... how much did I fill my pants then, when no less than a few seconds into my first game did the games AI director decide to send a hoarde of screaming blood-lust zombies running at full tilt at me from round a corner. I swear, I have never panicked so much for real at a game, it was all I could do not to cower for real from the zombies on screen. Absolutely fantastic. Great to hear they're moving on to bigger pastures, I'm sure they'll do well.
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