GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. have today announced that they have acquired the video game development studio Grasshopper Manufacture (Behind titles such as Lollipop Chainsaw), founded and headed by designer Goichi Suda (SUDA51). SUDA51 and the rest of his team will join GungHo Online Entertainment and will continue to work under the same company name as before – similar to other GOE development studios Gravity, Game Arts and Acquire.
Kazuki Morishita | President and CEO of GungHo Online Entertainment
We believe the strength of a publisher lies in its creative talent so with the addition of GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE and SUDA51 we are adding some of the most innovative talent in today’s gaming world to our stellar family of independently-operated studios. SUDA51 projects are known to put a unique spin on every game so coupled with our proven ability to support development with AAA resources including a tailored online experience, we believe gamers will benefit from this collaboration.
Goichi Suda | Founder and Managing Director of Grasshopper Manufacture
By joining GungHo Online Entertainment, we are aligning ourselves with a strong, established publishing force that will support our vision to further create inspired new games that appeal players across the world. The GRASSHOPPER team and I have many new ideas to share with our fans as we move forward so this union with GOE will help us realize our future plans.
Games which are currently in development by the studio (eg. Killer is Dead for the Playstation 3 and XBox360) will not be affected by this new development and will continue under previous terms. All further titles however (Which they claim will be revealed in coming months) will be subject to this acquisition.
As word of this was also sent around by GungHo Online Entertainment America, it can be assumed that any English localized releases may be dealt with by this division of the company. I look forward to seeing what these two companies have in store for us in the coming months.