While seeming to be working very hard at making smart decisions to get things where they need to be, THQ has apparently encountered another bump in the road. THQ President, Jason Rubin, has confirmed that at least two titles will be bumped into next year to allow these titles to reach their full potential.

Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2 have both been pushed back to March. Originally, at one point both titles were set to be released later this year, but neither had a confirmed final release date since the last announced delay; and while the date is later than THQ initially planned, the company believes that this is the right decision.

In addition to Metro: Last Light and Company of Heroes 2, Rubin also announced that South Park: The Stick of Truth would also be moved back from its originally announced date of March 5th. Right now, the company is only saying that they expect the game to be released in early fiscal 2014, which translates into second quarter of 2013 for those trying to keep score at home.

These three releases are big for Rubin, as he has pointed out these are three releases that he has had a direct impact upon since joining the company.  The fact that he believes the titles need more time to be market-ready is troubling, but not really unexpected, as Rubin has brought a much higher set of standards that many believe were previously from THQ.

To underline how important these next releases are for THQ, you have to look no further than the release of Darksiders II. After several delays, Darksiders II was finally released; and while it has sold 1.4 million copies, sales have been below expectations, according to Brian Farrell, THQ’s CEO on the company’s recent investor call.

The company had expected much more from the title and it just didn’t deliver, despite solid previews and good pre-order bookings. Reviewers didn’t score the game well, which it is believed contributed to the lower than expected sales numbers. The decreased sales of Darksiders II has really put the pressure on THQ, and THQ will need the next releases to do well; this is believed to be the real reason for giving the titles more time.