THQ Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vancouver-based PC development studio Relic Ent. THQ expects the acquisition to be completed by May 1. Other terms of the all-cash transaction were not disclosed.
The two companies previously signed a two-property, multi-year publishing agreement that includes Relic’s upcoming realtime strategy title Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, scheduled to release in fall 2004.
Founded in 1997, Relic Ent. hit the scene with 1999’s Homeworld, which garnering several “Game of the Year” and “Strategy Game of the Year” awards from major industry publications. Since then, the company has co-developed Homeworld: Cataclysm (2000) with Barking Dog Studios and released Impossible Creatures (2003) and Homeworld 2 (2003).
