There’s now an official Kingdoms of Amalur map cushion
THQ Nordic also bought some more game studios
There's a real hint of necromancy about THQ Nordic. The mega-publisher has resurrected a few games over the past few years, with Kingdoms of Amalur probably being the one that made me go "Huh?" the most. Well, there’s more "huh" to go around, because they just opened up a new merchandise store and are selling Kingdoms of Amalur cushions with the game map on them.
How did this come to be? After all, there are plenty of companies out there who serve as nothing more than the basic product manufacturer for other companies to plaster their graphics over. Is this the case? I’m not sure, but I also can’t imagine a marketing meeting that starts off with creative intentions and ends up with a Destroy All Humans! Iconic Crypto Blanket. I’m not seeing the obvious, game-driven crossover potential there. Though I do like to be cosy.
I might be being cynical. Perhaps this is the sort of thing that happens in houses across the land?
“Where are we, darling?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I’ll just consult the map.”
*butt moving noises*
“We’re in The Hollowlands, light of my life.”
THQ Nordic have larger things to be concerned about than your butt, though (but not by much). They’ve just purchased three more game studios to help supply them with more mug decals and potentially more games.
They grabbed Appeal Studios, who have a lineage stretching back to 1999’s Outcast, and appear to be making another open-world sci-fi game. Joining them are Massive Miniteam, who seem to be a support studio for other developers. And Kaiko who have remastered a number of games, including the Darksiders series and Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning. Expect to see the Nephilim on a bum bag in due course.