Darksiders 2 $50 million budget was "ridiculous", says Nordic boss

Darksiders owner Nordic Games has no intention of throwing $50 million at the franchise as THQ did.

Darksiders 2's budget was far too generous, according to Nordic Games boss Lars Wingefors.

"Darksiders is a top product. THQ spent $50 million making Darksiders 2. We can produce a product of the same quality but for a lower cost," he said in the latest issue of MCV, as reported by Gamespot.

"$50 million is ridiculous. I can't afford that."

Wingefors said that while Nordic might not have the financial grunt of a publisher like EA, its growing catalogue of properties means he expects the company to tick along nicely indeed.

"The THQ deal was the best I ever made," he said.

"I spent $5 million from my own bank account. It was a lot of money for me, but we got the money back very quickly."

Nordic Games acquired Darksiders along with a grab bag of other properties after THQ collapsed last year. It later picked up the rights to THQ's name and vowed to continue the brand.

One thing Nordic doesn't want to do, despite this talk of making quality products on the cheap, is dilute the properties it has acquired and thereby its own investment. The publisher's plans to continue THQ's franchises seem pretty sane.