THQ announced today that it has signed a new distribution agreement in Australia and, as a result, is moving to close its publishing offices in Melbourne in the coming months. The new agreement with All Interactive Entertainment means that all of THQ's products will be distributed through AIE in Australia in the future, and THQ has no need for its Asia Pacific offices anymore. In a statement to Gamasutra, a THQ spokesperson noted that, "approximately 18 employees were impacted by this action." "THQ confirms it has made changes to its publishing organization in Australia," the statement reads. "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." It continues, "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." THQ EVP Ian Curran added that the new distribution deal will allow the company to increase its overall reach with a lower cost business model. Over a dozen staff were already laid off from the company's Australian studio earlier this year, while THQ has laid off numerous staff from other studios in past months.