Even as executives from video game publisher THQ Inc. credited cost cutting for helping the company achieve positive financial results in the third quarter, more staffing reductions took place. The Agoura Hills-based company is refocusing two design studios to digital games with the result that 60 employees will be let go. THQ has streamlined its operations in the past two years as the result of poor financial showings and a drop in game sales, a strategy that has begun to pay off. For the third quarter ending Dec. 31, THQ reported net income of $542 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, on revenues of $356.7 million. That is a marked improvement over the same period in 2008 when the company reported a net loss of $191.8 million, or $2.86 per diluted share, on revenues of $357.3 million. The quarter also proved positive for THQ in terms of new licensing agreements with DreamWorks Animation SKG to develop games based on their animated feature films, and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to develop games based on the popular “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” game shows. The changes at design studios Phoenix and the United Kingdom reflect users wanting games available on portable devices. “We plan to address these needs through a rich offering of content distributed across digital platforms, based both on all of our major core brands as well as new intellectual properties,” said Danny Bilson, executive vice president, THQ Core Games. Mark R. Madler
