TitanQuest 2 didn't happen because THQ never purchased developer Iron Lore

Crate Entertainment founder Arthur Bruno revealed that his former development studio Iron Lore was never able to create a TitanQuest 2 because THQ acquired Big Huge Games instead of Iron Lore, while THQ owned the rights to the game.

The developer was shut down in 2008, and later reformed as Iron Lore. The last project the company worked on was helping Relic with the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Soulstorm expansion.

According to Bruno, Iron Lore was ”fully expecting to do a sequel” to TitanQuest ”and were laying the groundwork for it when THQ basically said they weren’t interested in another PC-only game and wanted to see a new, multi-platform IP.”

The game they ended up developing at THQ’s bequest was ”a multi-platform ARPG with a 3rd person, over the shoulder camera and action-style combat. It was sort of like Oblivion meets Gears of War” similar to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Then THQ pulled the plug just as the developer was about to begin development. The reason was that Big Huge Games was acquired and THQ tasked them with creating a ”multi-platform RPG” as well.

”Once BHG got Ken Rolston to sign on, THQ basically wet their pants and couldn’t buy them fast enough. After that, Iron Lore just couldn’t gain traction on a deal with another publisher fast enough and they ran out of money,” Bruno lamented.

Iron Lore couldn’t just shop TitanQuest around to another publisher because THQ owned the rights, ”so it was basically dead at that point.”

Crate Entertainment is currently developing another action-RPG, Grim Dawn, in TitanQuest’s place. The game recently reached its Kickstarter goal, and is set for development.