March 14^th, 2006 (4:05pm) - THQ Inc. today announced the formation of XDG (External Development Group), a new team charged with streamlining the company’s development outsourcing needs. Shiraz Akmal, previously director of research and development at THQ’s Heavy Iron Studios, has been tapped to lead XDG.

"Our ultimate goal for XDG is to increase our production capabilities and cost efficiency across the entire studio system," said Jack Sorensen, executive vice president of worldwide studios, THQ. "We’re confident that XDG will function as an extremely valuable resource allowing our core teams to focus on delivering the innovative gameplay consumers will expect from the next-generation systems."