THQ Nordic Kicks Off 2019 by Snagging the Outcast IP

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THQ Nordic has acquired the rights to the Outcast IP, which was recently remade as Outcast: Second Contact for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

2018 was a year of massive expansion for Swedish publisher THQ. They acquired several studios including Bugbear Entertainment, Coffee Stain, and Koch Media (Deep Silver). Then, when it comes to IP they acquired several notable but recently unused ones like Alone in the Dark, Kingdoms of Amalur, TimeSplitters, and Carmaggedon. Today, they acquired the IP for Outcast from the PC classic’s original creators, signifying that 2019 may be just as productive of a year for THQ Nordic.

As a briefly mentioned before, the rights to Outcast were directly acquired by the series’ three original creators from Appeal Studios: Franck Sauer, Yann Robert, and Yves Grolet. Apparently, the acquisition itself was handled by THQ Nordic AB, which is based in Karlstad, Sweden, though day to day operations for the IP will be handled by Vienna, Austria’s THQ Nordic GmbH.

While we don’t know THQ Nordic’s plans for the IP just yet, this acquisition does mark the end of a long and somewhat tumultuous road for the IP. The original Outcast, which was developed by Appeal Studios and published by Infogrames, released all the way back in 1999 to critical acclaim due to its excellent graphics and how it trailblazed open worlds in video games two years before Grand Theft Auto III’s release. A sequel titled Outcast II: The Lost Paradise did start development, but was ultimately canceled when Appeal went bankrupt.

Outcast had its die hard fans, but the IP remained dormant for several years. In 2013, Franck, Yann, and Yves reacquired the IP from Atari and started a KickStarter campaign to fund an HD remake of the original in early 2014. Unfortunately, the campaign did not hit its funding goal, but the project survived when Bigben Interactive came on as a publisher. Outcast: Second Contact, a remake of the original outcast, released back in November 2017 to mixed reviews. Hopefully, this THQ Nordic acquisition will mark a the start of a bright future for this important IP that has a rough history.