The studio behind Octopath Traveler and Octopath Traveler 2, Acquire, has been acquired by none other than Kadokawa Corporation. In effect, this means that Octopath Traveler and Dark Souls are now under the same umbrella, as Kadokawa also owns From Software, for one.
As Kadokawa’s latest earnings results document states, the acquisition was completed to “strengthen the ability to create IP in games as part of [Kadokawa Corporation’s] game business strategy.” As a result of the acquisition, Kadokawa Corporation expects “to generate synergies with [its] existing game-related subsidiaries, strengthen [its] planning and development capabilities Groupwide, and enhance [its] lineup of console games.”
Kadokawa Corporation now owns Acquire, From Software, Spike Chunsoft, and Kadokawa itself
Acquire now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Kadokawa Corporation’s other game production studios: From Software, Spike Chunsoft, and Kadokawa proper. This acquisition did not come out of the blue, mind: even though Acquire has generally been associated with Square Enix as of late, thanks mainly to its work on the Octopath Traveler games, the studio has also done some contract development along the way. Notably, Acquire produced the Way of the Samurai titles owned by Spike Chunsoft, and Tenchu by From Software. This makes Kadokawa Corporation’s decision to fully incorporate Acquire into its ranks perfectly sensible from a production standpoint.
In fact, Kadokawa Corporation will seek further collaboration between its major production studios moving forward. In the sourced document, it is outright stated that the goal is to “promote collaboration with FromSoftware and Spike Chunsoft, with whom ACQUIRE had a cooperative relationship.” For fans of Acquire’s previous work, it is also important to note that Kadokawa Corporation will “seek lineup expansion” from the studio, “including [the] redevelopment of past works.” Presumably, this means that properties such as Tenchu and Way of the Samurai are back on the docket, instead of having Acquire focus mainly on new IPs.
As Kadokawa Corporation’s earnings results explain, Acquire has some rather successful IPs all of its own, with Akiba’s Trip being a particularly notable highlight. The company is, therefore, considered to be a valuable addition to Kadokawa Corporation’s roster, and the expectations do seem to be high.
