Saints Row 4 News: Volition's Series Survives THQ Death, New Publisher Excited for 'Bright New Future'

Saints Row: The Third was one of the biggest surprises of 2012. By embracing an insanely over-the-top approach to the open-world formula, the series finally solidified its own identity and left behind the designation of "Grand Theft Auto clone." As both a critical and commercial success, the franchise marked one of THQ's most successful endeavors. Yet, when the publisher filed for Chapter 11 back in December, the fate of the property was muddled.

Now that THQ is dead and gone, its assets chopped up and sold off to the highest bidder, fans can rest easy. Koch Media, perhaps best known for its Dead Island series, is now the proud owner of Saints Row developer Volition. The valuable property was won for the low, low investment of $22.3 million. Koch also picked up the Metro franchise as well for $5.8 million.

Menno van der Bil, the international commercial director of Koch Subsidiary Deep Silver, issued a public statement on the matter, noting that "both the Saints Row and Metro franchises perfectly fit into our future lineup and strategy. We're really excited to lead these well-respected licenses into a bright new future."

However, not all of THQ's franchises fared so well. Vigil Games' Darksiders series was passed up by buyers. Gamespot reports that Platinum Games (PG), the developers of Metal Gear Solid Rising, Bayonetta, and more have expressed interest in the property through Twitter. Polygon translated a post by Platinum Games producer Atsushu Inaba, which reads: "Oh man in THQ's big sale it looks like nobody bought Darksiders...I'd love to buy that (if it was cheap)."

JP Kellams, a writer for PG, added to the conversation. "If anyone is interested in working with/at Platinum let me know how to get ahold of you via DM."