Section 8 studio and Aliens: Colonial Marines co-developer TimeGate has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Polygon reports the Sugar Land, Texas-based studio filed on Wednesday with total liabilities ranging from $10 million to $50 million.

Its top creditors include Epic Games, from which it licensed the Unreal Engine, among other gaming services and developers. TimeGate also owes an “unknown” amount to Section 8 publisher Southpeak Interactive, which Polygon says is likely its most significant liability.

The studio, which was formed in 1998, even owes a local pizzeria $34.80.

It’s been a rough few months for TimeGate. Besides working on the roundly panned (sorry, we’re still thinking about pizza) Colonial Marines, it also owes $7.35 million to Southpeak for compensatory damages related to Section 8.

TimeGate reportedly laid off about 25 employees in March.

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The auction that could see THQ’s properties sold off one by one begins today, but at least one franchise may not be up for bids. Selling South Park: The Stick of Truth to another company without the consent of South Park Studios would violate its contract, the company claims.

Polygon reports that South Park Studios filed a formal objection last week, asking the court to remove South Park: The Stick of Truth from the auction proceedings unless several conditions are met. These include compensation for at least $2.275 million in defaulted payments, express consent to the sale, and assurance of future performance. South Park Studios also wants to reserve the right to buy back the game in exchange for payment of THQ’s “actual costs.”

THQ responded, saying the license underlying The Stick of Truth was exclusive, which means federal copyright law doesn’t prohibit its transfer. THQ also said it’s “evaluating” the monetary defaults South Park Studios claims it owes.

South Park: The Stick of Truth was originally set for a March release, but was pushed back to sometime “early in fiscal 2014.” It remains to be seen how the sales process will affect THQ’s in-development properties.

We’ll let you know as soon as the results of the auction become available, but until then you can check out our thoughts on where THQ’s properties would be most at home.

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