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Last night, GungHo Online Entertainment announced that they have acquired No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. The acquisition, GungHo stated in a press release this morning, makes Grasshopper their “fourth prominent studio”.
GungHo’s other three flagship studios are Ragnarok developer Gravity, Lunar and Grandia creator Game Arts (who also worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl with Nintendo) and Tenchu developer Acquire.
“We believe the strength of a publisher lies in its creative talent so with the addition of Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51 we are adding some of the most innovative talent in today’s gaming world to our stellar family of independently-operated studios,” said Kazuki Morishita, President and CEO of GungHo Online Entertainment.
“Suda51 projects are known to put a unique spin on every game so coupled with our proven ability to support development with AAA resources including a tailored online experience, we believe gamers will benefit from this collaboration.”
Meanwhile, Grasshopper Founder and Managing Director, Goichi Suda (or Suda51 if you prefer) stated: “By joining GungHo Online Entertainment, we are aligning ourselves with a strong, established publishing force that will support our vision to further create inspired new games that appeal players across the world. The Grasshopper team and I have many new ideas to share with our fans as we move forward so this union with GOE will help us realize our future plans.”
More information on future Grasshopper projects will be made available in the coming months, according to GungHo. Projects that are already in development will not be affected by the acquisition and will continue under their existing publishing arrangements.
Pictured above: Morishita and Suda. Photo courtesy GungHo.
