THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initially working in the toy business, it expanded into the video game business through several acquisitions before shifting its focus away from toys entirely. THQ continued its trend of acquiring companies throughout the 2000s.
Rainbow Studios is an American video game developer based in Phoenix, Arizona, best known for developing offroad racing games, such as Motocross Madness and the MX vs. ATV series. It was established by Earl Jarred in 1986 under the name Rainbow Multimedia Group and rebranded as Rainbow Studios in 1992. In January 2002, the company was acquired by THQ, under the ownership of which it was renamed THQ Digital Studios Phoenix in February 2010 and closed in August 2011. The studio was re-instated as Rainbow Studios in 2013 by Nordic Games, a publishing company that had purchased most assets of the then-bankrupt THQ earlier that year.
Next Level Games, Inc. is a Canadian video game developer owned by Nintendo based in Vancouver. Founded in August 2002, Next Level Games specializes in creating console video games. Their first project was NHL Hitz Pro, which was published by Midway Games in 2003. The company is best known for its work with Nintendo, the Mario Strikers games and Punch-Out!! for the Wii, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Metroid Prime: Federation Force for the Nintendo 3DS, and Luigi's Mansion 3 for the Nintendo Switch.
The Vicious Engine is a game engine that offers functionality for rendering, sound, networking, physics, game play scripting, and lighting. It was developed by Vicious Cycle Software, and was first released in January 2005. No additional third-party libraries are required, and all source code is included. It supports GameCube, Wii, WiiWare, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Network, and Microsoft Windows. The engine would become dormant as a part of the closure of Vicious Cycle Software in 2016.
MX vs. ATV Unleashed is a racing simulation action sports console video game created for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows and mobile phones. Developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ, the video game was released in 2005 in North America and Europe. MX vs. ATV Unleashed is a crossover between THQ's MX trilogy and Sony's ATV Offroad Fury series, and it features same console support for two players and online support for eight players. The PC version has a "track editor" feature.
Eutechnyx Limited is a British video game developer based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Since 1997, the company has focused on racing games. They are known for their largely panned video game Ride to Hell: Retribution, work with the NASCAR The Game franchise, and as a developer on various other racing titles and games.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 is a professional wrestling video game published by THQ in November 2007, and developed by Yuke's for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation Portable video game consoles, with Amaze Entertainment overseeing development for the Nintendo DS version.
Tantalus Media is an Australian video game developer based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1994 by programmers Andrew Bailey and Trevor Nuridin. Since its inception, Tantalus has developed almost 100 games and has won multiple game awards. In March 2021, Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media for US$46.8 million.
ATV Offroad Fury 3 is a racing video game developed by Climax Racing and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 2. It was released on November 2, 2004 in North America and on February 10, 2006 in Europe.
MX vs. ATV Untamed is an offroad racing game developed by Rainbow Studios, Tantalus Media, Incinerator Studios and published by THQ for the PlayStation 2 and all seventh-generation platforms, becoming the last MX vs. ATV game to release on the former and the first in the series to be available on most of the latter. It is a sequel to MX vs. ATV Unleashed and its PSP port, MX vs. ATV: On the Edge, as well as the first of two games in the MX vs. ATV series to be available on a Nintendo console.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360 video game consoles, with TOSE overseeing development for the Nintendo DS version. The game was first released on November 9, 2008 in North America. It is the tenth overall installment in the video game series based on the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the fifth game under the SmackDown vs. Raw name, named after the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brands. It is the sequel to 2007's SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 and the second game to feature the promotion's ECW brand.
MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael, released as MX Super Fly in PAL regions, is a motorcross racing game developed by Pacific Coast Power & Light and published by THQ for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. It is the second installment of THQ's MX trilogy and a sequel to MX 2002 featuring Ricky Carmichael, garnering professional motorcross racer Ricky Carmichael's endorsement like its predecessor.
Exient Entertainment is an independent video game developer and publisher based in the United Kingdom and Malta. Developing for handheld, mobile, console, VR and PC platforms, Exient grew a name for designing and developing popular series' games to portable systems. It is known for its ports of various games in the Madden NFL, FIFA, Need for Speed, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour series for Electronic Arts and for developing numerous titles in the Angry Birds series. The company was incorporated in 2000 and began operations in January 2001.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Portable (PSP), Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and iOS. It was released worldwide in October 2009, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions for Japan in January 2010. TOSE oversaw the development for the Nintendo DS version, which was the last installment to be released for the handheld. 2010 was also the first installment to be released as an iPhone app, launching on App Store on December 23 the same year.
MX Unleashed is a 2004 racing video game developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ for PlayStation 2, Xbox and mobile phones. The game is also backwards compatible for the Xbox One as of April 26, 2018. It was also made free for Xbox Live Gold members in August 2020.
MX vs. ATV Reflex is a 2009 off-road racing video game developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ. It is the third game in the MX vs. ATV series, available on Microsoft Windows and all seventh-generation consoles except the Wii. It is also the last game in the series to be available on handheld consoles.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by THQ for PlayStation 2 (PS2), PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation Portable (PSP), Xbox 360, and Wii systems. The game was released worldwide in October 2010, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions for Japan in February 2011.
MX vs. ATV is an American racing video game franchise developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ Nordic that focuses on off-road racing, as a crossover between THQ's MX trilogy and Sony's ATV Offroad Fury series. Early games in the series, starting with MX vs. ATV Unleashed, were published by THQ prior to its bankruptcy and liquidation in 2013. As the name suggests, the series' main focus is racing with motocross bikes and all-terrain vehicles, although other vehicles such as dune buggies and sport trucks were also featured in the games. Players can also fly airplanes and helicopters in some of the games.
THQ Nordic GmbH is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were renamed THQ Nordic in August 2016 after the parent company had acquired the "THQ" trademark in 2014. THQ Nordic's core portfolio comprises assets that were acquired from other developers and publishers, such as from JoWooD Entertainment and its subsidiaries DreamCatcher Interactive and The Adventure Company in 2011, THQ in 2013, and NovaLogic in 2016. THQ Nordic has acquired and established several subsidiary studios, including Black Forest Games, Bugbear Entertainment, Gunfire Games, HandyGames, Piranha Bytes, Purple Lamp, and Rainbow Studios.
Playdek is an independent video game development company founded in 2011, based in Carlsbad, California. Playdek specializes in developing board games and card games for the iOS platform.
