Reports claim Paradigm, Mass Media, Locomotive, Sandblast all closed; Rainbow also suffers job cuts

THQ closing more studios?

It appears as though yesterday’s revelation of a downscaling at Juice Games may have just been the start of a massive cull of THQ’s internal development resources.

Gamasutra reports that Paradigm Entertainment, the Dallas studio acquired by THQ from Atari in 2006, is to be closed – as is LA-area based Mass Media, which has not had a single title announced since its purchase in 2007.

Further, an internal e-mail purportedly leaked from THQ also reveals the closure of Californian studio Locomotive and Seattle-based outfit Sandblast, both of which had recently worked on titles in the Destroy All Humans! franchise.

Gamasutra also mentions that Rainbow Studios, based in Phoenix, Arizona, has had its staff count reduced as well. Further, intrepid Kotaku readers noticed that Massachusetts studio Helixe had also disappeared from THQ’s studio map, and that its website no longer functions.

About MCV Staff

Check Also

Blog header 2026 IG50 [Industry news] Ubisoft backs IG50 Awards as Into Games opens applications for 2026 cohort

[Industry news] Ubisoft backs IG50 Awards as Into Games opens applications for 2026 cohort

UK games charity Into Games has today opened applications for IG50 2026, its annual programme that recognises 50 of the most talented yet-to-be-hired people in UK games from working-class and low-income backgrounds. The announcement comes as Ubisoft joins as the headline sponsor and as Into Games confirms that 11 winners from the previous 2025 cohort have been placed in paid roles in the UK games industry through its Boost placement programme.