THQ Shutters UK Studio, Homefront Developer Kaos

THQ confirmed to Gamasutra today that it is in the process of closing developers Digital Warrington and Kaos Studios as part of a "strategic realignment" less than three months after the release of alternate-reality shooter Homefront. "THQ continues its strategy of aligning the best industry talent with the company’s marquee franchises," the company said in a statement. "The Montreal studio will take over product development and overall creative management for the Homefront franchise. The Montreal studio actively collaborated with Kaos on Homefront," the statement added. The company went on to say that it is actively hiring for its locations in Montreal, Vancouver and Austin, and that employees from the shuttered studios will be able to interview for those positions. Despite lower-than-expected review scores that seem tied to a temporary stock dip for THQ, the Kaos-developed Homefront sold an estimated million copies worldwide in its first 10 days on store shelves. THQ let go of 17 Kaos employees at the end of March, leaving the studio with roughly 70 staffers. Kaos also developed the 2008 shooter Frontlines: Fuel of War. Over 45 employees were employed at THQ's Digital Warrington studio, according to the company's website. The studio was founded in 2003 as Juice Games and best known for the Juiced series of racing titles before being acquired by THQ in 2006. The studio's latest release, XBLA's Red Faction: Battlegrounds, received poor reviews and sales of just over 2,000 units in the month following its early April release, according to a Gamasutra analysis.