Luminous Productions to be merged into Square Enix
Square Enix has announced that Luminous Productions, the development studio behind Forspoken, will be merged into Square Enix. The studio will no longer be its own entity, effective on May 1, 2023.
In investor relations speak, the Square Enix Holdings company - which essentially acts as a vehicle for ownership - announced that "Luminous Productions Co., Ltd" will be merged into "Square Enix Co., Ltd". Both of these companies are subsidiaries of the holdings company, and now one is being merged into the other. You see this pretty frequently, where a holdings company and a subsidiary share the same name.
Square Enix states that this merger will bring the Luminous staff's technical expertise in AAA game development and engine development to Square Enix's other HD games.
The announcement from Square Enix in full can be found below.
SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director Yosuke Matsuda; hereinafter the “Company”) announces that it will merge its wholly owned subsidiary Luminous Productions Co., Ltd. into its wholly owned subsidiary SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. effective Monday, May 1, 2023.
The merger is part of the Company’s efforts to further bolster the competitive prowess of the Group’s development studios, a goal set forth under its current medium-term business strategy. SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. has developed numerous AAA high-definition (HD) games and possesses a wealth of intellectual property (IP) and content. Luminous Productions Co., Ltd. is meanwhile equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.
Luminous Productions also offered its own statement on the merger, shared below.
You may have heard the news that Luminous Productions is merging with Square Enix. Beginning on May 1, our talented team will join Square Enix to deliver new, innovative gaming experiences to players across the globe.
Between now and then we remain entirely focused on "Forspoken". We are currently working on the previously announced patch to address overall game performance (we will deliver an update soon) and the DLC, "In Tanta We Trust", is on track for release this summer. Thank you again for your patience and support!
When we established Luminous Productions in 2018, our vision was to make AAA games that fused technology and artistry to deliver completely new play experiences. Having the chance to do just that has been a dream come true. We appreciate you taking this journey with us and look forward to continuing to create new entertainment and experiences as a part of the Square Enix family.
Sincerely, The Luminous Productions Team