THQ has filed for bankruptcy, as part of a plan to sell all of the company’s games and assets to private investment firm Clearlake Capital Group for $60 million.

The publisher says that bankruptcy is a positive step that will enable the sale of the company and hopefully ensure that its in-development titles make it to shelves.

As part of the agreement THQ will sell its "four owned studios and games in development". The plan is for the publisher to continue working as normal during the sale process.

"The sale [of the company] needs to be completed through a Chapter 11 proceeding of the Bankruptcy code," THQ president Jason Rubin explained in an open letter.

"The most important thing to understand is that Chapter 11 does not mean the end of the THQ story or the end of the titles you love. Quite the opposite is true, actually.

"Chapter 11 is a safety net for U.S. companies. American Airlines is currently in Chapter 11 restructuring, yet I flew back and forth on that airline when I visited Volition two weeks ago. Donald Trump and his companies have been in Chapter 11 four times. 

"You can add to that list household names such as Macy's, Eddie Bauer, the Chicago Cubs, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, General Motors, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marvel Studios, and MGM, among many others.

"MGM filed Chapter 11 two years ago, and this year it released Skyfall and The Hobbit, two of the biggest titles of the year. That's what I mean when I say new start!

"Whatever happens, the teams and products look likely to end up together and in good hands. That means you can still pre-order Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, and South Park: The Stick of Truth.

"Our teams are still working on those titles as you read this, and all other rumored titles, like the fourth Saints Row, the Homefront sequel, and a lot more are also still in the works."

Indeed, tucked away in THQ’s bankruptcy filing are details on every game the company has in development, including projected sales numbers.

The list reveals that the four THQ-owned studios, Turtle Rock, THQ Montreal, Relic Entertainment and Vigil Games, are all working on new, unannounced IP. And though we know little about the contents of these games, we do know their working titles.

Left 4 Dead creator Turtle Rock Studios is developing a co-op action game called ‘Evolve,’ THQ Montreal - led by Assassin's Creed creative lead Patrice Désilets - is working on something called ‘1666,’ Space Marine developer Relic Entertainment is making a game called ‘Atlas,’ and Darksiders dev Vigil Games is working on ‘Crawler’ alongside Saints Row 4.

You can see THQ’s predictions for its upcoming slate of games below, in an image taken direct from THQ’s bankruptcy filing.

[via AGB]