THQ makes USD 430 million loss

THQ has announced its year-end financial results, revealing a net loss of USD 431 million.

The company reported net sales of USD 830 million, down from USD 1.3 billion a year ago.

In the last quarter alone the company racked up sales of USD 170 million, compared to USD 187 million the previous year. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania and Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II proved most popular.

In his statement bossman Brian Farrell used the word "challenging" a lot, but promised things are on the up: "We have taken decisive actions to achieve our cost saving objectives, eliminating USD 220 million in cash expenditures while at the same time implementing a focused product strategy. We are investing in the brands and products with the highest potential to drive THQ’s long-term profitable growth."

THQ plans to develop "a select number" of quality IPs "targeted at the core gamer", according to a press release. That'll include Saints Row 2, Red Faction: Guerrilla and Darksiders. The company wants to keep doing WWE and Ultimate Fighting Championship games, and improve the profitability of its kids' games. Then there's the focus on "emerging online markets" of course.

It's no surprise they're up for more Saints Row - 2.8 million of the second instalment in the series have now been shipped, according to THQ. The total number of Saints Row games sold is 5 million.

The publisher also pointed out that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II was the best-selling PC game in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Australia last year. More than 4 million Dawn of War titles have been shifted.

And finally, good news for fans of Red Faction: Guerrilla. According to Farrell (as reported by VG247), a multiplayer demo is out later this month. The full game will be released for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in June.