Look into the future of THQ and you will find that the company is hard at work on titles designed to appeal to a wide audience, though many of those titles might not hold a lot of interest for hardcore gamers. Several of their upcoming games are based on established properties like the WWE or UFC, not to mention Spongebob Squarepants. Sure, THQ has a few tasty morsels -- like Red Faction and Darksiders -- hidden among the licensed games, but there is always room for more.

Thankfully, THQ has acknowledged the lack of depth in their upcoming lineup and are hard at work acquiring new talent to help boost their future releases. One such acquisition, Assassin’s Creed creative director, Patrice Désilets, should help the company create some truly amazing games.

As mentioned earlier, Désilets worked on both of the released Assassin’s Creed titles as well as the first Prince of Persia reboot, The Sands of Time. After finishing work on Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Patrice separated from Ubisoft to get a creative break from the industry (or maybe it was just a break from the Assassin’s Creed franchise). While Désilets doesn’t begin his employment at THQ’s Montreal studios until the summer of 2011, THQ is very excited by the potential he brings:

"Simply put, we can't wait for Patrice to join THQ. Patrice brings a passion for games rich with action-packed sequences, gripping characters and cinematic flair, and we're all looking forward to having him and his newly formed team develop an all new franchise with us."

THQ certainly is putting their best foot forward in order to diversify their lineup for the coming years. First, they established a partnership with Guillermo del Toro, one of the most creative minds in the film industry. Now, they have enlisted the creative director behind two games that have substantially influenced the free-roaming genre. I wasn't exactly thrilled with what THQ had in the cooker before, but now I am anxiously waiting for news on their new titles.

What do you think of THQ’s new partnerships both with Patrice Désilets and Guillermo del Toro? Does it make you more interested in what the company has in store for gamers?

Source: THQ