Luminous Productions To Be Merged With Square Enix After Forspoken Debacle

Square Enix Holdings has finally announced the merger of their subsidiary studio Luminous Productions into Square Enix. The move was expected after the studio’s latest development Forespoken failed to meet the expectations of the publisher.

The game failed to get much traction among gaming aficionados despite Square Enix’s preemptive attempts to control the game’s reception, which backfired.

Square Enix announced the decision in a press release on its website. Despite the rumors on the Internet, the company calls the merger a part of its efforts to “boost” studios competitiveness. As this is the goal “set forth” in their present approach to bolster its production of high-quality AAA IPs. This is also their current medium-term Luminous strategy.

According to the press release the merger of Luminous Productions will be completed on the 1st of May. The announcement further read as follows,

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 made an announcement of its own as well. In the announcement made through a tweet on its official Twitter account, the studio stated that its team will be a part of Square Enix from 1st May. But before the finalization of the merger, the studio will continue working on Forspoken.

Luminous Productions further stated that the work on the previously announced patches and updates will proceed as before as well. And they are optimistic about releasing the “In Tanta We Trust” DlC this summer. The announcement further read,

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.”

The merger has received mixed reactions from the gaming community. Most fans showed concern for the studio and hoped that the merger with a much bigger studio like Square Enix will provide Luminous Productions with a much-needed safety cushion.

They also felt that it was necessary to keep Forspoken alive. Because with the backing of the already experienced team at Square Enix, Luminous Productions might be able to overcome the shortcomings of the game. In their opinion Square Enix still believes in the Forspoken project and by merging the studio they are trying to make it a success.

While others viewed this merger as a direct cause of the failure of Forspoken. In their view, this merger is evidence that Square Enix believes that the game is beyond saving. But these are all speculations, as both of these announcements mentioned no such thing.

Hopefully, we will get a clear picture of the reasons behind the merger. And we hope that the team at Luminous Productions gets every opportunity to redeem themselves with a successful AAA game.

Curious to know about Forspoken’s biggest problem? We have just the video for you.