A few months ago. one of the shocking studio acquisition stories came from Square Enix’s side. The Japanese developer and publisher announced that Europe’s Embracer purchased off their entirety of European studios. This purchase included Crystal Dynamics (Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain), Square Enix Montréal and others.
With the purchase successful, it seems studio transitions have slowly begun. Square Enix Montréal officially announced its rebranding in October. Ditching the name borrowed from the Japanese publishers, they transitioned to Onoma. While the unfortunate fate of Onoma is saddening, it seems titles taken care of by the company will also shut down.
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Announced via the official Twitter, the following four mobile titles by Onoma from its Square Enix Montreal days will shut down:
- Arena Battle Champions
- Deus Ex Go
- Hitman Sniper: The Shadows
- Space Invaders: Hidden Heroes
The announcement by Onoma reads that all four titles will get removed from Google Play Store and iOS App Store on December 1. However, players who own the games will get to play the titles until January 4, 2023. After that, access to these titles will get revoked.
— Onoma (@StudioOnoma) November 22, 2022
Furthermore, any in-game purchases done before December 1st won’t get refunded. The studio urged its user base to use the currency before shutdown.
Studio Onoma was formerly known as Square Enix Montreal. A mobile-only studio, they were responsible for creating mobile-only titles for popular Square Enix Europe IPs such as Deus Ex and more. After the Embracer acquisition, they changed their name to Onoma. Weeks later, Embracer announced the shutdown of Onoma.
