THQ San Diego shuttered as UFC rights pass to EA

THQ San Diego, developer of WWE All-Stars and reportedly a new UFC game, has been shuttered as the UFC rights were sold to Electronic Arts, according to a report from Kotaku.

THQ San Diego, developer of WWE All-Stars and reportedly a new UFC game, has been shuttered as the UFC rights were sold to Electronic Arts, according to a report from Kotaku.

Kotaku reports the studio's employees have reported that the studio was shuttered outright today — which also happens to be the biggest day of E3 2012. As announced earlier this morning during the EA press conference, the publisher acquired the rights of the fighting sports franchise for an "undisclosed cash payment." THQ San Diego was working on a "next-gen" UFC game, which was apparently canceled as part of EA's acquisition.

We've reached out to THQ to get confirmation of the studio's shutdown.

Update: A THQ representative confirmed to Polygon, "THQ confirms that today's announcement regarding the UFC license transition will affect the company's San Diego studio. THQ is working closely with those relevant staff to either find possible employment within the company, or potentially with EA."