Japanese anime and music production company Aniplex, which is owned by Sony Music, has announced the acquisition of Delightworks. Delightworks is best known as the developer of popular free-to-play mobile tactical RPG Fate/Grand Order.
As part of the acquisition, Delightworks will be spun off from the company, and will then function as its own mobile development division as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aniplex. Aniplex has been the publisher of the game since it was first released, but now the game and its developer will be owned by Sony. Following the recent acquisition of Nixxes by Sony, things are beginning to indicate that Sony Interactive Entertainment is starting to ramp things up and making big moves in the mobile gaming department.
Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play game released in Japan back in 2015, and in North America in 2017. Over the course of six years, the game has become one of the highest-grossing mobile titles in the world, bringing in billions each year. Fate/Grand Order game has also inspired spin-offs (including one for PlayStation VR), anime, manga, and even stage plays. Production will change hands as the leadership changes, but the game will continue to be developed by Delightworks. Meanwhile, the company will also continue to work on projects outside of game development. At this time, it’s unclear how expensive the purchase of Delightworks will pan out.
Recently in an interview with Axios, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan commented on the matter of Sony getting in to the mobile gaming market, explaining why the company is now taking these steps. “The thinking here is that our IP portfolio is in such a strong state right now, it seems perverse to restrict enjoyment of it to our existing PlayStation community,” Ryan said.
Interestingly, this past April, former Street Fighter producer and head honcho Yoshinori Ono left Capcom earlier this year, to then be appointed as president and COO of Delightworks. It’ll be interesting to see the work that Delightwoorks will bring under Ono’s tutelage.
Do you play Fate/Grand Order? What are your thoughts on Sony purchasing the developing team behind one of the most popular mobile games?
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Source: comicbook.com, animenewsnetwork.com
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