A long-time game development studio will have a new home. Japanese multimedia holdings company Kadokawa Corporation, who owns development and publishing companies such as FromSoftware (Elden Ring, Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon) and Spike Chunsoft (Fire Pro Wrestling, Jump Force) has purchased Acquire Corp., known for their work on the Tenchu series. The news was official courtesy of Kadokawa's earning results briefing for the fiscal year ending in December 2023, stating that Acquire Corps.' acquisition will "further strengthen the ability to create IP in games". 

"By acquiring the company, which has produced million-seller hit titles, we expect to generate synergies with our existing gamerelated subsidiaries, strengthen our planning and development capabilities Groupwide, and enhance our lineup of console games," the report states.

The first Octopath Traveler, initially launching on the Nintendo Switch and was published by Square Enix, has sold over 3 million copies by September 2022. Its sequel, released in 2023, has shipped 3 million units and sold over 1 million in five months across digital and physical formats. The RPG series proving to be a strong intellectual property, this could prove to be a strong purchase for Kadokawa.

Some interesting trivia, this also places studio Acquire back under the same corporate umbrella with the stealth-based action series Tenchu, which was purchased by FromSoftware in 2004. Acquire Corp produced the last Tenchu game, Shadow Assassins, in 2009 for the PlayStation Portable. Will there be a relaunch? Perhaps fans would like to see a return or reinvention.