If rumors of THQ's sale are true, which publishers should pick up the pieces?

Earlier today, rumors began circulating about THQ canceling its 2014 titles in preparation for a sale. THQ has denied the reports (you can read about it in the original post), but with weak sales on some of its AAA titles and several studio closures over the past few years it certainly doesn't sound impossible. We'd hate to see another publisher fall (and THQ has brought us some of our favorite games in recent memory), but we're prepared for the worst - even if "the worst" might not be that bad, as we've seen with Civilization being sold to Take-Two and Mortal Kombat being sold to Warner Bros.

Regardless, we've prepared a list of which publishers we'd like to see pick up THQ's biggest titles and franchises, if it does ever end up selling them off to the highest bidder.

Red Faction

Who we want to buy it: Ubisoft

Why? We can't help but think that THQ took a step in the wrong direction with Red Faction, turning it from an open-world playground to an underground shoot-em-up, which is why we'd love to see the game handed over to Ubisoft. Put the franchise in the hands of the Far Cry 2 team and let them take full advantage of the massive martian landscape and the destructible environments and we're 100% sure the next Red Faction will make Armageddon's problems a distant memory.

World Wrestling Entertainment

Who we want to buy it: Activision

Why? Many companies are known for licensed games, but nobody annulizes them better than Activision. For years WWE was one of THQ’s biggest franchises, and while many publishers could take it, it’s such an American franchise we could easily see Activision picking it up. Plus the reliable nature of its audience to pick it up each year is just the kind of safe, exploitable bet Activision likes. We envision Treyarch or Neversoft teaming up with Yuke’s to keep the series going, thus allowing Acti to stick its toe in the sports world, one of few markets they currently don’t dominate.

Darksiders

Who we want to buy it: Capcom

Why? Capcom can be very hit-or-miss, but when it hits it knocks it out of the park. We're imagining a Darksiders game made with some help from the Devil May Cry developers. Throwing some of Dante's moves into a Legend of Zelda-style game might help the series become the breakout hit it deserves to be. Plus, if Ninja Theory's DMC is successful, we wouldn't be shocked to see Capcom looking to branch out more into Japanese-influenced Western games, and Darksiders certainly fits the bill for that.

Devil's Third

Who we want to buy it: Zenimax

Why? We’ve yet to see anything from Devil’s Third since E3 2010, but if it’s still on track for 2013, given the game director’s desire to work with Western companies, our bet is Tomonobu (Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive) Itagaki and Valhalla siding with Zenimax/Bethesda. Zeni is currently working with RE4’s Shinji Mikami on an unannounced title, so it makes sense that the publisher would want to further expand its influence with Japanese gamers. And Itagaki’s style of action game was one Bethesda tried to get right before with games like Wet, so its possibly still a genre they’re interested in.