Tomonobu Itagaki of Team Ninja is facing at least some uncertainty over the news that his first project since leaving Tecmo could be on the auction block. THQ’s CEO Brian Farrell is quoted as saying that the Devil’s Third apparently no longer fits what the publisher is calling its “profitability profile.”

THQ is talking to third parties about the future of the title. THQ has acknowledged that the development of Devil’s Third has had several unforeseen setbacks during its development. THQ also acknowledges that while it believes in the franchise, they are going to explore their options and work with Valhalla to make sure that the product makes it to market.

Itagaki’s studio, Valhalla Game Studios, is still working on Devil’s Third, so development on the title has not stopped. Still, the level of uncertainty does make the situation murky, at best; but we suspect that another publisher will likely take over the title from THQ and Devil’s Third will still make it to release.