Survival Horror franchise Alone in the Dark and real-time strategy series Act of War have been purchased by THQ Nordic. This is THQ Nordic’s second round of acquisitions this month, after the publisher bought Kingdoms of Amalur from EA.
THQ Nordic has purchased the IP rights for Alone in the Dark and Act of War. The publisher has been buying up a range of IPs recently, including the Kingdoms of Amalur rights purchased earlier this month.
Alone in the Dark is a series of survival horror games that began in 1992. Inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft, the series has seen releases on most major platforms starting with the MS-DOS release of Alone in the Dark. The most recent game in the series was Alone in the Dark: Illumination released in 2015 on Windows. That game supports up to four-player co-op, and while promising in preview form was received negatively upon release.
Act of War is a series of real-time strategy titles released on Windows. The first game in the series was Act of War: Direct Action and featured a story written by Dale Brown. Brown is a retired captain of the U. S. Air Force, and bestselling author. High Treason is an expansion pack released a year later by developers Eugen Systems. Eugen Systems went on to develop R. U. S. E., Act of Aggression, and Steel Division: Normandy 44
Atari had owned the rights to both series before THQ’s acquisition. Earlier this year Atari had filed a trademark in the franchise, although there was no confirmation that a new game was in development. Infogrames Entertainment purchased the storied Atari brand in 2001, and in 2009 the company dropped the Infogrames name to become Atari, SA.
The newly formed Atari filed for bankruptcy and began selling off assets. The Atari that owned these game rights has largely been a holding company for old properties, and has sold a number of its intellectual properties to other companies in the intervening years.
These new properties join a growing stable at THQ Nordic. The company’s purchase of the Kingdoms of Amalur IP from earlier this month came as a surprise to many. THQ Nordic itself is a combination of different brands, as Nordic Games bought the THQ name and several IP in 2013. The company became THQ Nordic in 2016
