THQ Australia to close with 18 job losses
New local distributor engaged as Melbourne office shuttered
THQ Australia is to cease operations and shut down for good, with the loss of 18 jobs, the publisher has confirmed.
"THQ confirms it has made changes to its publishing organization in Australia," reads an official statement. "In line with THQ's corporate strategy to focus on wholly-owned IP and move away from affiliate label programs, we have evaluated how best to take our more-focused product lineup to market in the territory.
"After a thorough analysis, a decision has been made to move from a direct sales model to a distributor model, which means that our Melbourne publishing office will be closing. Approximately 18 employees were impacted by this action."
Local distribution operations have been handed over to All Interactive Entertainment.
"The evolution of our distribution model in the Asia Pacific region will allow us to increase our reach with a lower cost model," said THQ executive vice president Ian Curran.
"AIE is a trusted business partner with whom we have worked with for many years as our distributor in New Zealand."
THQ's Australian office has seen several rounds of redundancy, including a loss of 14 jobs in January, 2012. THQ has also closed Blue Tongue, its Brisbane office, its Japanese office, the UK base in Warrington and Homefront developer Kaos within the last eighteen months.
A financial report for the company is due soon, with the publisher hoping to consolidate last quarter's return to the black after several consecutive quarters of loss.