In view of the missed opportunity represented by Forspoken, we could fear the worst from Square Enix which, as a reminder, had not hesitated to part with Eidos and Crystal Dynamics studios as well as licenses such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain for the sum of 300 million dollars, last year. Supposed to represent the technological avant-garde of Square Enix with its Luminous engine, the team of Forspoken failed in too many areas and can probably be happy to be reorganized rather than sold or outright closed. As of June 2020, Luminous Productions had some 150 busy employees on Forspoken.
That being said, Square Enix’s pithy press release does not make it clear what will happen to the members of the Luminous Productions team, or whether any layoffs will take place as a result of this operation. On paper, Square Enix obviously does not present its gesture as a sanction with regard to the results of Forspoken and justifies this change of status by the desire to strengthen its internal studios. Suffice to say that a big “ouais” seems in order.
Luminous Productions Avoids Lights Out
“This merger is part of the company’s efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the group’s development studios, an objective set out in its current medium-term commercial strategy. Square Enix has developed many high-definition AAA games and owns a large amount of intellectual property and content. Luminous Productions has not only AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. The association of the two entities will further strengthen the group’s ability to develop HD games“, can we read.
For its part, the management of Luminous Productions seems to confirm that the team will not be dissolved within Square Enix and that it will therefore be able to continue to create games in the midst of the other internal departments of the publisher. Its current priority, however, remains to work on improvements to Forspokenespecially with regard to the technical performance of the game, without forgetting the additional content In Tanta We Trust which is expected this summer.
“When we created Luminous Productions in 2018, our vision was to make AAA games that fuse technology and art to deliver completely new gaming experiences. Getting the chance to do just that has been a dream come true. We appreciate you taking this journey with us, and we look forward to continuing to create new fun and experiences as part of the Square Enix family.“
- Also Read | The Forspoken test by diogo