To the surprise of no one who read Ripten's interview last week with THQ Vice President Danny Bilson, Darksiders 2 -- originally scheduled for release June 26th -- is getting pushed back to August.

With all the bad news that's been surrounding THQ for some time now, Darksiders 2 was one of the few bright spots on the company's horizon. After all, the first game did well critically (and had some commercial success), and early buzz surrounding the sequel suggested that it might get an even better reception.

Some of the optimism took a hit last week, however, when Bilson refused to say whether the game would be ready for its June 26th release date. THQ attempted some damage control following the interview, saying they had "(n)o new announcements...at this time" regarding the game, but today's news shows why they gave themselves wiggle room with the last part of their statement.

Oddly enough, news of Darksiders 2's delay comes on the same day as the company announced better-than-expected financial results to close out their fiscal year. While that's certainly good news for everyone at the company, you have to think that investors won't be entirely reassured by a press release that cites the now-delayed Darksiders 2 as the first highlight in their upcoming release calendar -- coming, as it does, well into THQ's second quarter. Here's hoping, however, that the company's optimism is justified, if only so that fans eager for more Darksiders get their fix.