Very strange movement that you just made Embracer Group AB. The Swedish company has become an acquisition engine in the industry and one of its most important movements was the purchase of several Square Enix developers.
Along with Eidos or Crystal Dynamics, the company pocketed Square Enix Montreal. The announcement of the purchase was made half a year ago, but it was not until two months ago that the process was finalized. Now, as they point out from Bloomberg, Embracer has taken the step of completely closing the study.
What is particular about this movement is the short interval between the acquisition being effective and the developer saying goodbye. Even more incomprehensible is that on October 10 it was decided to give Square Enix Montreal a facelift to change the name to Onomaalong with a graphic and advertising boost.
The creators of Hitman GO, Lara Croft GO, among others, will be transferred to Eidos Montreal, although this change will not affect the entire 200 employees. Phil Rogers, director of CDE (company that owns Embracer), has shared the following words with Gamesindustry.biz:
“Closing our Onoma studio is a difficult decision that we have made with great care and consideration. We greatly appreciate all team members for their contributions over the years and look forward to finding suitable placements for as many as possible.”