Other than Saints Row, I am not sure any of their IP is valuable. THQ has admitted most of the games in these IPs were break even or slightly profitable. That means going from past performance the net present value of these franchises going forward is basically zero.
In bankruptcy, most companies can maintain operations once they are allowed to postpone debt payments, pensions, accounts payable, etc. Their cash flow will cover salaries, rent, and the other bare minimum expenses needed to keep the lights on.
THQ may be one of the few bankruptcies where under no scenario will cash flow cover the bare minimum expenses. This means we may be looking at a liquidation, and for a game company with no physical assets other than offices, it is not good. To keep the company out of liquidation the major creditors or a new creditor would have to agree to extend more financing, and I think that is doubtful except to keep the Saints Row developer open.
Temporarily shuttering Volition while trying to sell the studio would destroy all its value. Already every day the studio loses value as I am sure most employees are job hunting, to shutter it completely would mean it would be almost impossible to get those employees to stay at Volition without serially offering retention bonuses.
