THQ studio closure spawns new startups - Report

Last month, THQ confirmed it would be shutting down its UK-based Digital Warrington studio, developer of the Juiced series of racing games and Warhammer 40K: Kill Team, which debuted on Xbox Live yesterday. While the studio will stay open just long enough to get the PlayStation 3 version of Kill Team out the door, UK trade site Develop is reporting that the impending closure has already spawned no fewer than three startups.

Two of the new businesses are game development studios, with the first one a three-man squad going by the name D3T. That shop will be helmed by programmer Jamie Campbell and project manager/designer Stephen Powell. The second developer is being established by Digital Warrington studio director Don Whiteford and lead designer Ric Badger, but it does not have a name as of yet.

The third outfit to spring from Digital Warrington is Alien Apple Studios, a conceptual design studio for various media founded by artists Stu and Donna Jennett. All of the aforementioned developers except Stu Jennett worked at Digital Warrington from the studio's first game, the 2005 racer Juiced, back when the studio was independent and known as Juice Games.

According to Develop, approximately 36 developers at Digital Warrington were made redundant after the release of Kill Team on the Xbox 360, with 10 remaining until the PS3 edition of the game is released.