THQ reveals price paid for RTS developer Relic Entertainment

Publisher THQ has revealed that it will pay close to $10 million in total to acquire Vancouver-based real-time strategy specialists Relic Entertainment.

In a recent filing with the American Securities & Exchange Commission, the publisher noted that it paid $6 million to Relic's owners during the April to June quarter, with another $4 million due over the next two years.

As well as assuming Relic's debt of $517,000, that's $547,000 in tangible assets, $1.3 million in intangible assets, and a further $8.85 million in goodwill.

When it announced the purchase in April, THQ did not disclose the figure, but did reveal that the deal was for cash - a departure from the normal terms of such acquisitions. In general, publishers base developer acquisitions on shares, not cash.

Relic, best known for the Sierra Studios-published Homeworld, has a strong pedigree in the real-time strategy genre, having also produced a popular sequel to Homeworld and the critically acclaimed Impossible Creatures for Microsoft Game Studios.

The firm is currently working on the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War strategy game for THQ, having signed a two-property multi-year publishing deal with the company prior to its acquisition.

At the time of the acquisition announcement, THQ worldwide studios executive VP Jack Sorensen described Relic as a company with a proven ability to create high quality product.

"We are confident that Relic's extremely talented teams of designers, programmers and artists will solidify THQ's position as a leading publisher of PC and console entertainment," he said.

THQ has been bolstering its PC line-up in recent years, with titles including Full Spectrum Warrior and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl the subject of widespread critical interest and expected to do well in the future.