A rumor hit the internet this morning that video game publisher THQ (which produces WWE video games and the upcoming UFC video game) was about to cease all operations. The report was first issued on video game website N-Europe who later retracted the statement with the following:
“Updated – 16:03PM THQ have contacted N-Europe and debunked the story. We apologise for raising a panic; we had good reason to trust our source on this matter, but it looks like some wires were crossed along the way. Watch this space for an official statement.”
Although things appear to be fine with THQ despite some recents cuts in the company’s mobile division, sales for the new “WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009” video game were down 22% as of the end of the year with the same period as last year’s 2008 game reports The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. THQ had hopes of breaking even in 2009, but the drop in sales for the WWE game and a SpongeBob game (down 19%) made that difficult. One source added, “The WWE decline is particularly concerning since that franchise had been one of THQ’s last bastions of strength.”