THQ Shelves SR3 Expansion, Slates it for SR4

This morning, THQ announced that they’d be canceling the release of the standalone Saints Row: The Third expansion, Enter the Dominatrix, which was scheduled to be sold this summer. Instead, the material from the expansion’s going to be incorporated into Saints Row 4, which, according to the company, is tentatively called “The Next Great Sequel in the Saints Row Franchise.” Boing.

THQ’s recently appointed president, Jason Rubin (no relation), explained the decision in a press release posted on the company’s investor site:

“When I looked at the Enter The Dominatrix expansion in production at Volition, I was blown away by the ideas and desire to expand the fiction of the franchise. I asked the team what it could achieve given more time, more resources, and a broader scope for the project. We all agreed we wanted to play that game. When it comes to Saints Row, it’s clear our fans want bigger, better, and even more over the top, and that’s why Enter The Dominatrix will now be incorporated into a vastly expanded, full-fledged sequel, scheduled for calendar 2013. We believe the potential for this sequel is far greater as a full-priced, full-length, high quality, connected experience.”

While THQ is putting a pretty positive spin on the situation—claiming that “Enter the Dominatrix” is “now part of something bigger than itself,” the decision has financial repercussions for the company’s bottom line. By pushing the material back into 2013 and not releasing the product this summer, that means a shift of roughly $20 million from fiscal year 2013 to 2014. In plain English, this means they’re going to take a $20 million hit in terms of projected revenue.  For a company that’s been struggling to stay afloat as publicly as THQ, that’s not super-good.

At the same time, it’s a positive sign that Rubin is sacrificing short-term gains for long-term security. The material’s still going to come out and offer a return on the company’s investment. Doing things this way may prove even more valuable. But who knows? Let’s hope THQ continues moving forward and we get a look at what I’m sure is totally filthy video game content next year.

Via THQ