Darksiders 3 already made back its development and marketing spend

As THQ Nordic closes out a quarter that saw it acquire both Coffee Stain and Bugbear Studios, the company reports that it and its subsidiaries have a grand total of 77 games currently in development as of the close of its fourth quarter on December 31, 2018.

The company's most recent financial report outlines the results of both the fourth quarter of its fiscal year and the 12-month period spanning January to December 2018, though this current fiscal year will have a fifth quarter as THQ Nordic works to shift its calendar to an April-March year.

For just THQ Nordic, Darksiders 3 drove a 38 percent year-over-year increase in sales to SEK 352 million (~$38 million) and was able to recoup the money spent on both development and marketing within only a month and half of its release.

The THQ Nordic Group as a whole saw its net sales increase by 441 percent to SEK 1.4 billion (~$148.9 billion) while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) increased by 109 percent to SEK 326 million (~$35.2 million). Both of those increases are due in part to THQ Nordic’s acquisition of Koch Media last February as well as the November 27 release of Darksiders 3.

For the first time, the company is also disclosing its operational earnings before income and taxes (EBIT) in a bid to “provide a fair picture of the underlying operational performance.” That income grew 84 percent from the previous year's numbers to SEK 194 million (~$20.9 million).

Looking at the 12-month period ending December 31, 2018, the THQ Nordic Group recorded net sales of SEK 4.1 billion (~$445 billion), a 713 percent increase year-over-year and one mainly attributed, again, to the Koch Media acquisition. EBITDA for that period rose 257 percent to SEK 974.1 million (~$105.1 million), while operational EBIT came in at SEK 484.0 million (~$52.2 million).

The company also noted that its cash flow from investing activities amounted to roughly SEK 1.9 billion (~$207.8 billion) spent for the year, a sum which covers its Q4 acquisitions of Bugbear Entertainment, Coffee Stain, Expeditions, Carmageddon, and three quarters-worth of prior acquisitions as well.

Just a few months into its fifth quarter, THQ Nordic has already made moves to continue that acquisition spree. Though not included in its latest reporting, the company also announced today that it has acquired Kingdom Come: Deliverance developer Warhorse Studios for $37.5 million and the Australian publishing outfit 18Point2 for $2.1 million.