THQ reorgs product dev execs

Sweeping change has been the theme at THQ for the past 12 months. Last October, the publisher said it would delay much of its early 2008 lineup, including Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon, de Blob, and Frontlines: Fuel of War, to the latter part of the year due to quality concerns. That announcement was followed in January by news that its would dropping a number of franchises, including racers Stuntman and Juiced, as well as shuttering its development outfit in Carlsbad, California.

Despite the string of drastic moves, THQ VP of product development Jack Sorensen assured GameSpot in April that the publisher's best days were ahead of it, and the company had taken necessary steps to become "one of the majors" making games for this generation of consoles. Whether or not that becomes the case is yet to be seen, but regardless, Sorensen's role in getting THQ there has concluded.

THQ today announced that as part of a reorganization of the publisher's product development management team, Sorensen will be departing the company. To fill Sorensen's vacancy, THQ has divvied up his duties among three current executives.

Roy Tessler, previously vice president of production, will now serve as senior vice president of production and worldwide studios. Danny Bilson, former creative director at EA and most recently vice president of creative development at THQ, has been promoted to senior vice president of creative development. Lastly, Steve DeCosta, formerly vice president of studio finance, has been upped to senior vice president of product development finance and administration.

"This reorganization creates a more efficient management structure, aligning Roy, Danny and Steve as my direct reports," said THQ president and CEO Brian Farrell in a statement. "I look forward to working directly with them to more expeditiously achieve our quality, predictability and profitability targets." Farrell also addressed Sorensen's departure, saying the one-time exec "has been a key contributor to THQ's success over the past seven years."