What happens to game IPs when their studio closes?

This is something I have been curios about for awhile. What happens to the individual rights to a game when the publisher and developer closes their doors?

To be more specific, I was wondering about "Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy". Eurocom (the company that developed it) has since closed, and so has THQ, which published the game. I have searched the U.S. copyright registry, and have not found any mentions of "Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy" related to either company. Although there are many other games listed.

Who owns this, or any of the other games for that matter? Are they just floating in limbo somewhere?

Thanks in advance,

Jon

In the old days, there were instances where a game company might disolve without anyone really picking up the IP and some of these games would basically become public domain. These days, however, there are so many game development studios and publishers that pretty much every time a company goes under there's always someone there to pick them up. Nordic Games acquired the THQ brand when the company dissolved so they likely own the IP to any of the previous THQ titles.

-Byshop

@Byshop: Thanks for the info! I wasn't aware anyone acquired THQ's assets. Everything's got to be so damned "legal" nowadays. :/

I had to look it up. I didn't even know they closed.

-Byshop

THQ went bankrupt and the company was not just bought up by Nordic games as Byshop said. A bunch of ip´s was sold off to other developers, Koch Media, Sega, Deep Silver (Crytek), Take-Two and Ubisoft.

but it is correct that most went to Nordic Games. Strange enough though Sphinx is one of the games not mention by name, so i am not sure that THQ had the ip org. so i would assume that it either still is with the owner (Eurocom) or simply was not mentioned and is now with Nordic.

But it seems most likely that it´s with the guys behind eurocom or who ever bought up the bankrupt estate. So it´s very possible that ip could be owned by some bank in the uk.

Eurocome is no more unfortunately.

That is a long research report question you ask.

Some become just IP companies that get paid for other to use their IP. I believe that Fasa was like that at some point.

Some sell the IP out.

There a lot more.

When Midway went under, WB bought the rights to Mortal Kombat, Microsoft got Hydro Thunder, and EA took Blitz and NBA Jam. Not sure what happened to everything else. Would be cool to see a new Spyhunter.