Kadokawa Corporation, the parent company of Elden Ring and Bloodborne developer FromSoftware, has acquired the studio behind Octopath Traveler.
As reported by Gematsu, Kadokawa revealed during its latest earnings results it had made the studio, called Acquire, a "wholly owned subsidiary", placing it alongside the likes of fellow developers FromSoftware and Spike Chunsoft.
Perhaps best known for developing Octopath Traveler and its 2023 sequel, Acquire is also responsible for No Heroes Allowed VR, Akiba's Beat, and Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed.
"To strengthen the ability to create IP in games as part of our game business strategy, we have made ACQUIRE Corp. into a wholly owned subsidiary," Kadokawa said.
"By acquiring the company, which has produced million-seller hit titles, we expect to generate synergies with our existing game-related subsidiaries, strengthen our planning and development capabilities groupwide, and enhance our lineup of console games."
It's unclear what the "synergies" between game studios will entail, but it's likely related to development efficiency rather than seeing Elden Ring downloadable content in Octopath Traveler 2 and vice versa.
The Octopath Traveler is perhaps most recognised for its art style, dubbed HD-2D, which reimagines classic role-playing game pixel art in a modern and dynamic way.
The latest earned a 7/10 in IGN's review. "Octopath Traveler 2 is a very enjoyable JRPG sequel that feels a little too safe and familiar," we said.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
So does the Octopath IP go with them or does Square own Octopath?
Think Square owns it