In a statement released today, THQ announced it filed bankruptcy as part of a sale to equity firm Clearlake Capital. Though financial issues troubled the publisher in the past, the announcement stressed everything will continue as normal while THQ seeks a new owner.

"THQ will continue operating its business without interruption during the sale period," read the statement. "All of the company’s studios remain open, and all development teams continue. Consumers and retailers should see no changes while the company completes a sale. The new financing will support business operations throughout the period. THQ does not intend to reduce its workforce as a result of the filing."

THQ's filing specifically fell under Chapter 11 of the government's Bankruptcy Code, which allows a company to reorganize and essentially get its bearings without disappearing entirely. Which is a good thing, with upcoming games such as Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Saints Row 4 hanging in the balance.

On a positive note, THQ's substantial success generating over $5 million through its recent Humble Bundle deal boosted its stock nearly 40 percent!

Whether you think the organisers of the Humble Bundle were right to host a Windows only, Steam only bundle of great games (and Red Faction: Armageddon), it's been a pretty good move for THQ. Since the pay-what-you-want sale went live, not only has the site raised almost $3.3 million, but it's had a positive effect on the company's share price too.

Moments after the bundle's launch, THQ's stock rose 37.96% to $1.61 per share, at which point previous investors took the opportunity to jump ship, quickly knocking the share price down to around the $1.40 mark. Stocks are weird.

It's a definite improvement on THQ's pre-bundle price tag of $1.07. Although, to put those figures in perspective, the troubled Zynga has a share price of $2.33, while EA and Activision are laughing their way to the invisible bank of fake money that doesn't exist at $14.65 and $11.36 respectively.

What we don't know is how much of the raised money is heading directly to THQ, with the distribution between them, the Humble organisers and charity not available. What is known is that THQ CEO Brian Farrell's donation of $1,650 went entirely to charity. He stresses that this "should not be interpreted as a recommendation to others on their split."

I'm now going to stop watching a constantly updating graph of share prices before it turns me into a crazy person.

Thanks, GI.biz.

Humble Bundle is offering its first pay-what-you-want package for a triple-A publisher: seven of THQ's games are up for grabs. This might seem like a departure from the Humble Bundle's usual practice of highlighting unassuming indie titles, but we have to admit that there can be few things more humbling for THQ than seeing its stock price plough through the floor.

Plus, as with any Humble Bundle you can select what proportion of your payment goes to the devs, and what part goes to charity - Child's Play and American Red Cross, in this case - so you can still luxuriate in the warming glow of your own philanthropy.

Pay as little as a dollar and you'll snag Darksiders, Company of Heroes, Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor, Metro 2033 and Red Faction: Armageddon. Every customer also gets DRM-free soundtracks for CoH, Armageddon and Darksiders and if you pledge a some over the average bundle price you get Saints Row: The Third and its soundtrack as well.

The deal runs for 13 days from November 29, 10am PST and will go live at www.humblebundle.com.

Humble Bundle also want to stress that this doesn't mean they'll stop doing indie bundles. So, hooray!

THQ's stock has halved in value after the publisher's Q2 financial report announced a delay to the games arriving early next year. Though the delay shows an investment in the quality of those titles, the plummeting share price could leave the company facing bankruptcy before they reach market.

Needless to say, this would be a tremendous shame, as many of the games on THQ's roster are very well-liked here at PCG. Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2 look particularly promising, and later releases, like Crytek's take on the Homefront licence and a new Saints Row game should do a lot to chivvy up sales - assuming THQ can find the cash to fund their development. Then there's Darksiders - which I rather enjoyed despite its weak-sauce PC porting - but the last game hasn't made its money back, despite 1.4 million sales.

As such THQ faces a tough call: gamble money it doesn't have to fund and polish its forthcoming projects or jeopardise the quality of its titles and face diminishing returns. There are other options of course, though not especially welcome ones: a mergers and acquisitions consultant has apparently been hired, presumably to look at the possibility of a buy-out.

If THQ can last out a little longer, then the sales of Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2 may well make or break the company. If you're looking forward to those games, it might be worth considering this fact should you find yourself with pre-order-shaped wad of cash come Christmas-time.

Gorgeous Greenlight projects. A planned Left 4 Dead 2 map on meta-horror. Dildo bats, crazy cats, and space hats. What does it all mean? It probably all makes sense on a metaphysical level, but we're pretty sure they're just more news we're rounding up and sending your way like a caring grandmother. A caring zombie grandmother.

The Light brands itself as "an interactive philosophical story." Sweet, sweet urban decay.
Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard almost worked with Valve on a potential Left 4 Dead 2 map pack tie-in.
The Secret World gets a new director, former lead content designer Joel Bylos, and reveals the name of its next Issue update as "The Cat God." Let's hope Bylos didn't have to endure through an elaborate initiation ceremony involving complicated hand gestures.
The entirety of Saints Row: The Third's DLC is included in the upcoming Full Package version releasing on November 9 for $50.
Super-long Assassin's Creed 3 gameplay video reveals Connor actually talking. Oh, and chopping people's faces in.

This week's best deals  ►  Borderlands 2, Saints Row: The Third, and more
Amazon has 10% off Borderlands 2 - it's not a lot, but it did just release - and a more substantial 40% off The Walking Dead. Meanwhile, Saints Row: The Third is 66% off on Steam and free to play this weekend, the Tribes: Ascend Starter Pack is only $7.49 at GameStop, and Green Man Gaming continues to give out 25% off vouchers (it matches Amazon's Borderlands 2 deal, too).


10% off Borderlands 2 at Amazon - $53.99
40% off The Walking Dead at Amazon - $14.99
75% off Tribes: Ascend Starter Pack at GameStop - $7.49
66% off Killing Floor Bundle on Steam - $10.19
66% off Saints Row: The Third on Steam - $13.59
75% off Bastion at GameFly - $3.75
25% off a PC download at Green Man Gaming with voucher code: GMG20-27J4Z-8NXHO



Steam  ►  Saints Row: The Third, Red Orchestra 2, Killing Floor
Saints Row: The Third is 66% off and free to play this weekend. Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2 also get the double-six treatment, and Sniper Elite V2 is 50% off.


66% off Saints Row: The Third - $13.59
66% off Killing Floor Bundle - $10.19
66% off Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad - GOTY - $6.79
50% off Sniper Elite V2 - $24.99
75% off Kung Fu Strike - The Warrior's Rise - $2.49
More Steam deals



Amazon  ►  Borderlands 2, The Walking Dead
Amazon was a little disappointing last week, but this week it has 10% off the just-released Borderlands 2 and 40% off The Walking Dead. The other sales have carried over from previous weeks, and some have been around for ages. Someone at Amazon really wants you to play Mount & Blade.


10% off Borderlands 2 - $53.99
40% off The Walking Dead - $14.99
50% off Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2 - $9.99
50% off Deus Ex: Human Revolution - $14.99
60% off Mount & Blade - $6.03
More Amazon PC game downloads


Green Man Gaming   ►  25% off voucher, Borderlands 2

Use the voucher code GMG20-27J4Z-8NXHO to receive 25% off a digital download by Tuesday September 25th at 4 a.m. PDT. By the way, Arma II: Combined Ops was recently added to GMG's catalog, so there's an idea. Plus, there's all the deals below:


10% off Borderlands 2 - $53.99
60% off Duke Nukem Forever - $7.99
60% off Mafia - $5.98
75% off Mafia II - $7.49
75% off Sid Meier's Civilization V - $7.49
60% off Borderlands - $7.99
60% off BioShock - $7.99
75% off BioShock 2 - $4.99
More GMG deals


Get Games  ►  Guild Wars 2, Sleeping Dogs
You can still get Sleeping Dogs for 25% off and Borderlands for 50% off. Guild Wars 2, however, is down from 25% to 15% off, and still only for European customers. Sad face.


15% off Guild Wars 2 - $46.75 (Europe only)
15% off Guild Wars 2: Digital Deluxe Edition - $63.75 (Europe only)
25% off Sleeping Dogs - $37.49
50% off Borderlands - $9.99
More deals from Get Games


GameStop   ►   Tribes: Ascend, Arma II
GameStop has 75% off the Tribes: Ascend Starter Pack. That's a pretty good deal - it includes all classes, permanent VIP status (50% XP bonus), 800 Gold, a 30 day XP booster, and some gear and perks. Compare that to $10 for 800 Gold (and nothing else) from Hi-Rez's store.


75% off Tribes: Ascend Starter Pack - $7.49
20% off ARMA II - $15.99
50% off Resident Evil 5 - $9.99
14% off War of the Roses - House of York Deluxe Edition - $29.99
20% off Sleeping Dogs - $39.99 (Cheaper above)
More GameStop deals


GOG  ►  Atari All-Stars
GOG is selling a selection of Atari games at 60% off this weekend. I would list them all here, but it turns out Atari published a lot of games.

GamersGate  ►  Same deals, different day

Some of last week's deals, like BioShock at 50% off, are gone, but those that remain look to be the same as always - mostly tons of Paradox games. Let me know if I missed anything crazy big.

GameFly   ►  Bastion 'n Batman
Bastion is a damn neat game, and it's currently only $3.75 at GameFly.

75% off Bastion - $3.75
75% off F.E.A.R. 3 - $4.99
20% off Batman: Arkham City GOTY - $23.99
75% off Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY - $4.99
50% off Resident Evil 5 - $9.99
More GameFly deals


Let us know in the comments if you find any more great deals!

Disclaimer: We offer no guarantees regarding the validity of these sales, their restrictions, or the quality of service provided by these distributors. We cannot vet every deal: we only list what we see advertised at the time of writing. Buy at your own risk!

It looks as though we'll all get to play Saints Row: The Third for free this weekend. If you like the idea of blasting through an open city in a VTOL jet that shoots lasers, or calling in a gang of pink ninjas to start a turf war with an army of luchadores then you should certainly check it out, especially if you have a friend to jump in with. Saints Row: The Third is quite excellent in co-op.

As Gamespy note, the free trial is currently only visible in your Steam purchase history. A proper pre-load icon will surely hit Steam libraries later this week.

Saints Row: The Third has very few qualms about where gangstas can go. Gangstas on a plane? No problem. Gangastas inside computers? Fine, whatever. Gangstas in space? Sounds like an average Tuesday afternoon in Steelport. Except: a twist! The Saints aren't actually in space at all: they're filming a b-movie. It's either a cutting parody of Mass Effect 3 or an excuse to add pink laser guns and spaceships. Or both! It'd be wrong to place limits on the game that brought us a tiger that can be placated by power-slides.

The new mission, guns and vehicles are available now on Steam. The DLC is also included in the Saints Row: The Third Season Pass.

The innocent bystander you just murdered with a giant dildo in Saints Row: The Third isn't alone. He shares a special circle of gaming hell occupied by 1,999,999 other victims who suffered the same terrible fate.

That's just one of the stats turned up by a new post on the Saints Row: The Third site, spotted on Shacknews. 5.8 million player deaths have been recorded across the city, 44 million foes have been killed in Whored Mode, 650 hot dog mascots have been flamethrowered to death and players have collectively spent two years "streaking the streets of Steelport and making old ladies scream." You monsters.

But how many hours have been spent rushing around Steelport as a toilet? I have no idea. Whatever the number, it's not high enough. Follow Graham's guide to being a toilet in Saints Row: The Third to help boost the tally. For the Saints!

 
Saints Row 3 is the unrestricted id of gaming smeared across an open world city. It's brash, juvenile, violent and obsessed with toilet humour. So much so that you can play the game as a toilet.

Watch the video above, and then read on for how you can easily do it yourself in an instant and without mods.

The game's character creator is tremendously powerful, letting you play the entire game as the hideous chubby manbaby of your dreams. To help people share their best creations with the world, there's a Saints Row 3 community site where you can upload and download those creations. There are a ton on there, with all the inevitable copyright infringement and naked people you'd expect. But there's also the toilet.

The toilet wasn't created by another player, but is one of the rewards you get for completing the game. Why wait till then? As the video above shows, there is no better way to experience Saints Row 3's cutscenes for the first time than as a feisty hispanic toilet.

To get the character for yourself, simply sign up at the Saints Row 3 community site, visit the Toilet character page, and click "Add to queue". Then, when creating a new character at the start of the game or via one of the city's cosmetic surgery shops, select the option to connect to saintsrow3.com. It'll hook up with your account on that site, and a short while after you added it to your queue, the toilet will be available to select. Enjoy!