Darksiders II saddles up June 26

With THQ doubling down on the core gaming market, Darksiders is now one of its most important franchises. Does that translate to good news for fans of the series? They'll find out on June 26, as THQ today said Darksiders II will arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on that date.

In addition to dating Darksiders II, THQ announced a range of retailer-specific preorder incentives. GameStop is getting the Death Rides pack, which includes multiple side quests set in the Maker's Realm and Dead Plains areas.

At Best Buy, gamers will get the Angel of Death pack, which features angelic armor and complementary scythes. This pack also includes a purple-colored visual trail for a player's companion crow. Lastly, Amazon preorderers will pick up the Deadly Despair pack, which offers a speed boost for Death's horse, Despair.

Darksiders II follows the horseman Death instead of the original game's protagonist, War, and it tells a parallel story to the original rather than continuing on from that title's conclusion. In the game, Death will attempt to clear War's "good" name (he's accused of starting the end of times ahead of time) and save humankind in the process.

Darksiders II has also been announced for the Wii U. THQ expects to launch this version of the game alongside the system. Nintendo has not yet announced when the Wii U will be available. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.