Thursday, September 16, 2021

Fans Speculate That THQ Nordic Are About to Announce New 'SpongeBob' Video Game

10th Anniversary Showcase | THQ Nordic


To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are throwing a digital party! Join us for the first, official THQ Nordic digital showcase event on September 17th at 9 PM CEST / 12 PM PST / 8 PM BST / 10 PM MSK on YouTube, Twitch, and Steam.

The showcase will be hosted by Geoff Keighley, executive producer and host of The Game Awards, and will feature six new games. Witness the return of legendary franchises and sequels to beloved games. We hope you are ready, kids!

Additionally, we will also release new information and footage for our upcoming games, ELEX II and Expeditions: Rome. If you tune in early, you might also get a glimpse of what our friends at HandyGames have been up to!

Back in March 2018, THQ Nordic got the internet excited when they announced that they were partnering with Nickelodeon to bring remastering and/or re-release a number of Nickelodeon video games produced by THQ in the late '90s and mid-aughts.


The first game announced under the partnership was SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, in which THQ Nordic rebuilt the iconic game originally released in 2003 from the ground up, giving it better gameplay, a multiplayer mode, and drastically improved graphical quality, as well as restored cut content. The remastered SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated was eventually released in June 2020 to critical acclaim - and now it looks like THQ Nordic are about to work their magic on another SpongeBob video game!

During a teaser for the publisher's upcoming digital showcase in celebration of its tenth anniversary, THQ Nordic featured footage from SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, however, fans have been speculating that the publisher is about to announce a new Nickelodeon game, specifically one based on SpongeBob SquarePants.

On Twitter, the publisher has been tweeting SpongeBob GIFs, even writing "We hope you are ready, kids!" in one, a clear nod to the show's iconic theme song. With that in mind, its safe to expect a Nickelodeon-related announcement at this show.

THQ Nordic began operations in 2011 under the name Nordic Games GmbH. It was founded as a subsidiary of the Swedish publishing company Nordic Games Publishing AB, now known as Embracer Group. The company originally had a quiet first few years, releasing and acquiring smaller games and IPs from lesser-known developers that had just gone defunct.

August 2013 was when Nordic made some of its earliest strides: it acquired all of the leftover properties from the bankruptcy auctions of THQ for $4.9 million. This meant the company earned the rights to 150 individual games, including franchises such as MX vs. ATV, Darksiders and Red Faction (though it would trade that IP to Koch Media in 2020).

This would not be the only transaction involving THQ and Nordic Games. In June 2014, the company acquired the "THQ" trademark itself, allowing it to publish games under that name. By August 2016, Nordic had officially rebranded, changing its name to THQ Nordic. The decision served to bring back that well-known name while putting its own spin on it and distancing itself from the issues that led to THQ's closure in 2012. Since then, THQ Nordic has redistributed several THQ games, as well as new titles like the Destroy All Humans! remake and Biomutant.


Hosted by Geoff Keighley, the executive producer and host of The Game Awards, as well as the recent Gamescom Opening Night Live event, THQ Nordic's upcoming showcase will occur on Friday, September 17. It will begin at 9 PM CEST / 12 PM PST / 3 PM EST / 8 PM BST / 10 PM MSK. The show will be streamed through YouTube, Twitch and Steam, and it has been confirmed on Twitter that content creators will be allowed to co-stream the event on their own channels. Additionally, THQ Nordic is working to make sure that all music can be part of the stream without any risk of copyright.

While the stream may be used largely to celebrate important milestones and moments in THQ Nordic's 10 years, there's sure to be some exciting new game announcements.

THQ Nordic has confirmed that the show will feature six new titles. While it has noted that this includes "the return of legendary franchises and sequels to beloved games," the company didn't provide any further details. However, it has confirmed ELEX II and Expeditions: Rome will be showcased alongside the reveals. No other games were confirmed, though Black Forest Games has been hiring for a new project that is believed to be a Destroy All Humans! 2 remake. Otherwise, don't expect to see TimeSplitters or the recently revealed reboot of Saints Row at this event, as those IPs are owned by Deep Silver.

No information has been announced yet on how long the event will be. With only six game reveals and a handful of updates, though, the main showcase will likely last around 30 minutes. However, it appears there will be a pre-show of some kind, as THQ Nordic confirmed that viewers who tune in early will get a look at something new from HandyGames, the team that recently ported SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated to iOS and Android.

With the news that this showcase will also feature "the return of legendary franchises and sequels to beloved games," the stream is sure to be exciting. And it's safe to expect a new Nickelodeon announcement to come at this upcoming showcase.

Following a decade-long lull (apart from a few TMNT and Legend of Korra games), Nickelodeon properties have seen resurgence in the video game category over the last couple of years, thanks to partnerships with THQ Nordic, GameMill Entertainment and Outright Games, which has seen the release of titles such as Nickelodeon Kart Racers, Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand PrixPAW Patrol: On A Roll, PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Save Adventure Bay and PAW Patrol The Movie Adventure City Calls, as well as the upcoming titles Blaze and the Monster Machines: Axle City Racers and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.


Originally published: September 03, 2021.

Original source: CBR.

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