Cygames Acquires Metal Max To “Create A New Future” For Franchise

The nearly three-decade-old roleplaying game franchise now has a new home.

By Ahmed Mansoor July 29, 2022

Role-playing games are arguably the richest genre in gaming. With its history of amazing games, both popular and underrated, it’s hard to see any genre match it. There are so many roleplaying video game series that you never run out of them.

One such critically acclaimed roleplaying game franchise of the 1990s is Metal Max. Big in Japan, the first few games in the series were really successful in the 90s. The first game even got a release in Western markets due to how popular it was at the time.

However, Metal Max has been largely underwhelming for the rest of its history. Most recent releases in the series have failed to please the players and have received average reviews with mediocre sales. As of recent, the franchise might finally have some hope as it is moving to a different publisher.

Japanese video game developer, Cygames, has acquired the Metal Max franchise and now owns the rights to the series. The company announced this acquisition in a tweet from the game’s official account on Twitter. Kadokawa Corporation was the previous owner of the roleplaying franchise, and the rights will now be transferred to Cygames.

In the official statement regarding the acquisition, Cygames said that it has not decided on the future of the series yet. Metal Max has a rich thirty-year history, and it looks forward to creating new games in the series. So, the next Metal Max game will be published by the Japanese publisher known primarily for mobile games.

【Cygamesよりお知らせ】
この度、サイゲームスは『メタルマックス』関連事業を譲受いたしました。今後の展開等は未定ではございますが、30年の歴史を持つメタルマックスの新たな未来の創造に向け尽力して参ります。
今後ともどうぞよろしくお願い致します。https://t.co/H2UIpCmYkf #メタルマックス

— メタルマックスプロジェクト【公式】【Cygames】 (@metalmax_pr) July 29, 2022

Even though Metal Max is big and historically significant in Japan, this franchise acquisition is still confusing for many. The series hasn’t been in good shape for a long time now, and its popularity has gone down. So, spending so much revenue on something which peaked at the start does raise a few concerns.

Cygames, however, has lots of finance to burn due to its successful mobile division. Its mobile games, like Granblue Fantasy, have revenues up to $700 million and huge player bases. Hence, the publisher has the cash to spend on its console sector and develop games like Metal Max for it.

Some people are speculating that some higher-ups at Cygames adore Metal Max and want to save the franchise. The series was really big in Japan almost three decades ago, so this explanation is somewhat plausible and does make sense.