THQ's recent financial troubles are no secret; as projects are delayed or cancelled, many question the fate of the Saints Row publisher. Despite these issues, development on Homefront 2 remains unaffected.
Cryetk's CEO Cevat Yerli revealed that the team at Crytek UK are working on Homefront 2 in a very isolated manner. This probably means THQ won't make drastic changes akin to folding the Saints Row: The Third expansion Enter the Dominatrix into Saints Row 4.
The relationship between Crytek and THQ also remains healthy, with meetings between the publisher and developer described as "transparent." On the creative end, THQ is respecting Crytek's vision, and for the most part is taking a very hands-off approach. Yerli describes the situation:
"There's been no tangible change whatsoever. There have been a few meetings and the introduction of people and those meetings are always very transparent."
"To be fair, the way we're developing Homefront 2 is very isolated anyway. We're treating it as our own new IP and at the same time THQ is respecting us and saying, 'you guys know what you're doing' and telling us the story they'd like to have, which we're collaborating creatively on."
Over the past few months, THQ's stock has dropped considerably, and some executives have left the company. Danny Bilson, VP of Core games, recently left to be replaced by Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin. As of June 14th, THQ Vice President Teri Manby -- who also acted as the publisher's corporate controller and chief accounting officer -- has also resigned, but will be staying with company until July 6th. Manby's positions will be filled by two other THQ executives, Rose Cunningham and Paul Pucino.
While it's easy to criticize THQ for its policy of using online passes, the publisher has put out some new and intriguing games this generation. Saints Row, Metro, Darksiders and even the original Homefront -- despite being devoid of any emotion -- have all been great attempts at doing something different. It's just too bad THQ's been rewarded for those attempts with threats of a stock delisting.
Homefront 2 is currently in development for a 2014 launch.
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