Uncertain future ahead for Homefront dev

THQ exec Danny Bilson has spoken out on rumours that THQ is planning to dissolve New York-based Homefront developer Kaos Studios and relocate staff to its new Montreal studio.

According to a Develop source last month, disgruntled staff have been concerned that THQ is planning to shut up shop once the game ships and move employees a few hundred miles north to save on the high cost of doing business in the Big Apple.

That's not necessarily the case, THQ core games VP Danny Bilson told Eurogamer today, but it is on the table.

"Y'know, I think that the power of the guys in that studio who really built this game – I really have tremendous respect for them," he said, before explaining its fate depended on how well the game sold.

"I tell them the more successful a game is, the better the economics are for the franchise, and that will help to influence what we do. So we haven't made any decisions at the moment. That's the truth. We're going to look at how it goes. We don't want to relocate people just to relocate people.

"A lot of it has to do with how successful it is and how strong that core team comes out on the other side," he added. "I love those guys. I've worked very closely with them on this game for years. There's nothing disrespectful going on at all. We're trying to do what's best for everyone."

Bilson did give the Kaos team cause for optimism, revealing that Homefront was the most pre-ordered game in THQ history with 200,000 sales already locked down in the USA alone.

The shooter, which sees you helping to rid American soil of an occupying North Korean army, launches on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 11th March.

As revealed in October last year, THQ's new Montreal HQ will house around 400 developers and be headed up by poached Assassin's Creed creative director Patrice Désilets. When asked what the former Ubisoft man will be working on, Bilson insisted that he wasn't in the loop.

"He doesn't start until next summer when his non-compete [agreement] is over with Ubisoft," he explained.

"I understand that he has an idea of what he wants to do, but I honestly don't know what it is. Somebody who knows him said 'Oh, I've heard it, it's really cool' and I said 'Well, I haven't'. And that's the truth as I can't legally know. But I trust him – he's a tremendous talent and I'm looking forward to it."