Following THQ's closure of five internal studios--over 25% of its internal resources--earlier this week, the publisher has terminated 17% of its studio staff--roughly 250 people--under a "new strategic plan" that will "focus on fewer, higher quality titles."

Along with the studio closures, THQ cancelled "several titles that were in development but had not been publicly announced." The company cited decreased consumer confidence, a "cautious" retail environment, and problematic exchange rates as factors that lowered its overall expectations for the current year.

While THQ will now produce less games, the studio claims this strategy will allow it to have bigger budgets on select titles. Moving forward, it hopes to focus on fighting games, such as UFC titles, more rational kids and family games, and migrating "key brands" to the online arena, such as Company of Heroes... Read more

Listings for a new Company of Heroes entry titled "Tales of Valor" recently appeared at retailer Amazon.com, prompting speculation that publisher THQ is preparing a second expansion pack in the Relic-developed World War II PC real-time strategy series.

The listing puts Tales of Valor's price point at $29.99, identical to the initial cost of the previous standalone expansion Opposing Fronts, and suggests a tentative release date of March 1, 2009.

The recipient of numerous awards, the original Company of Heroes hit PC in 2006, with developer Relic currently working on the sci-fi RTS Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 (PC), due out in early 2009.

No other details on Tales of Valor were offered in the listing, with publisher THQ having yet to offer an official comment.

Subscription-based PC gaming service GameTap has agreed to bring a number of games published by THQ to the service, the company announced today.

The agreement will see the addition of such THQ-published PC titles as Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes, Gas Powered Games' Supreme Commander, Iron Lore Entertainment's Titan Quest and GSC Gameworld's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl to the service, among others.

Left, Company of Heroes. Right, Supreme Commander.

Those players who don't shell out the $9.95 per month for the "Gold"-level GameTap subscription can also expect a number of THQ titles to be available from the service's free-to-play catalog, which requires 15 second video advertisement to air before each play. GameTap did not specify which THQ titles will be free.

The games are expected to appear on GameTap before the end of the summer.

A new Company of Heroes patch has been released, updating the original game and Opposing Fronts expansion to version 2.301. In addition to bug fixes and balancing changes, the patch offers several map changes. ... Read more

A new Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts patch is now available, updating version 2.103 of the strategy game expansion pack to version 2.201. The 113mb download offers performance improvements, balancing changes, and bug fixes. ... Read more

A demo of the stand-alone Company of Heroes expansion pack Opposing Fronts is now available from FileShack. The 1.92gb download includes tutorials and the first two missions from Operation Market Garden.

A new Company of Heroes patch has been issued, updating the original game and Opposing Fronts expansion pack from version 2.101 to version 2.102. The 5mb update fixes CD-key validation issues, P2P sync issues, and also offers a number of balancing changes. ... Read more

With the Company of Heroes expansion pack Opposing Fronts now shipping, THQ has issued new patches updating the original game and the new addition to the franchise.

Both patches offer a gargantuan amount of balancing changes, while the mammoth 1.75gb patch for the original game also adds the Commonwealth and Panzer Elite armies. ... Read more

Following news of the game going gold earlier this month, Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts has shipped to stores. Publisher THQ previously indicated the title would arrive in stores this month, but had not pinned down a specific date.

The standalone expansion to Relic's acclaimed PC WWII RTS Company of Heroes features two new armies, each with their own campaign, DirectX 10 support, mission persistence, improved AI and physics, and a dynamic weather system. The original Company of Heroes is not required, though the two releases interface to provide new multiplayer options.

For more on Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, check out Nick Breckon's detailed impressions.

Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts has hit gold status. Publisher THQ declined to pin down an exact ship date, but expects the game to bombard stores later this month--an earlier release than the November estimate Nick Breckon mentioned in his detailed impressions.

Published by THQ, the standalone expansion to Relic's acclaimed PC WWII RTS Company of Heroes includes two new armies, each with their own campaign, DirectX 10 support, mission persistence, improved AI and physics, and a dynamic weather system. Though the first Company of Heroes is not required, the two releases interface to provide new multiplayer options.

"Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts is a massive game," Relic general manager Tarrnie Williams confidently stated. "We've consistently redefined the standard for excellence in the RTS genre over the last five years, and Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts represents another leap forward in technology and strategic gameplay."

Relic has issued a new patch for Company of Heroes, updating version 1.7.0 of the game to version 1.7.1. The 9.7mb update offers crash and memory leak fixes, and also takes care of two DirectX10 rendering bugs. ... Read more

Like Gas Powered Games with Supreme Commander, Company of Heroes developer Relic is going the stand-alone route with the sequel to its hit World War II RTS. At last week's E3, I got a chance to check out Opposing Fronts in person, and came away excited about the series all over again. Check it out.

Gliders filled with elite British commandos tumble to the ground, the wings of their transports shearing off on the sides of buildings as they careen down city streets. When the British infantry emerges from their busted ride and marches into enemy territory, their pace slows, the men cautiously moving from building to building, reflecting their shrewd style. These little touches are what allowed Company of Heroes to stand out amidst a sea of bland WW2-themed games, and they continue to impress with the sequel.

There's a Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts preview on IGN, going hands-on with the stand alone expansion pack.

New at GameAlmighty.com this afternoon is a Q&A with Relic programmer Remy Saville, who is asked about the recent Company of Heroes update that added DirectX10 support to the game. In case you hadn't grabbed that patch yet, you can find it on FileShack.

Computer & Video Games has reprinted a PC Zone preview of Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, taking a look at this standalone expansion pack. The article touches on the two new armies, game length, and variety of combat scenarios.

Relic has issued a new Company of Heroes patch, updating version 1.6.1 of the critically acclaimed World War 2 strategy game to version 1.7.0. The 13mb update offers a number of gameplay tweaks and bug fixes, but the main attraction is DirectX 10 support for Windows Vista users. According to publisher THQ, DX10 support should result in improvements to model and map details, lighting, shadows, and overall image quality. Today's patch makes Company of Heroes the first retail game with DirectX 10 support.

Update: NVidia has released new 32-bit and 64-bit Vista beta drivers for the GeForce 8x00 range of videocards, which are required for new effects to show up.

There's a Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts Q&A on GameSpy this evening, asking lead designer Josh Mosqueira about the new content and features found in the standalone expansion pack. Update: GameSpot also has a Q&A on the game.

Over at Games Radar you can find a preview of Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, the upcoming stand-alone strategy game expansion pack. The article offers impressions and an interview with various folks at Relic.

1UP has reprinted the Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts preview found in the May issue of the Games for Windows magazine. The article offers an indepth look at this expansion pack. There's also an interview on this page.

A new Company of Heroes patch has been released, updating v1.6.0 to v1.6.1. The hotfix update fixes a bug where Allied Halftracks were resistant to some forms of damage.