Yesterday, THQ’s assets went up for sale to the highest bidder. Every single one of the properties owned by the bankrupt company will be sold off to rival publishers.

The only way that THQ will be able keep control of their properties is if all the external bids amount to less than $60 million. 

In that scenario, everything goes to Clearlake Capital, an investor that will allow THQ control of their IP.

Now, while no announcements have been made about the outcome of the auction, some rumours have begun to circulate.

According to various sources, SEGA is the highest bidder for Relic Entertainment and its games. Primarily, that relates to Company of Heroes, the World War 2 strategy series.

As SEGA already owns the The Creative Assembly and the Total War series, should the rumours be true - it seems like a good fit.

Tim Lewinson, of Canada-based Finger Food Studios, tweeted, "Hearing that the high bid for @Relicgames at the @THQ IP auction is *drumroll* @Sega."

Relic designer Neil Rodway also added some weight to the story, saying “Some of the names we've heard in the running: EA, Ubisoft, Sega, Warner Bros...”

Meanwhile, Koch Media is said to be the highest bidder for Volition, the Saints Row developers. Koch Media owns Dead Island publisher Deep Silver and is looking to up its output in the games industry.

Tim Lewinson tweeted saying, "Also hearing that the high bid for @VolitionInc (and Saint's Row, assuming) is *drumroll* @KochMediaUK."

Last up, Ubisoft is rumoured to be the highest bidder for Obsidian’s promising South Park RPG. That story comes from an investor close to the auction who tweeted: "THQ: Sources indicate Ubisoft has emerged as a contending bidder for certain THQ assets."

All of the rumours are also corroborated by threads on NeoGaf, which has proved itself to be a somewhat (occasionally, sometimes) reliable source over the years. It is all, however, far from confirmed.

A sales hearing will take place at 5pm GMT that may reveal some official details.

One other thing to bear in mind is that the sales will likely be complicated. For example, SEGA may well buy Relic Entertainment, but that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll also get Space Marine, which is a separate property owned by Games Workshop. Similarly, purchasing Volition doesn't necessarily mean a purchase of the Saints Row series.

Whatever way you look at it though, we’re one step nearer to the death of one of the biggest games publishers in the world.

[via EG]