Formerly known as Square Enix Montreal, the studio was rebranded to Studio Onoma approximately a month ago. If you can’t be bothered to keep track of the name change, you won’t have to worry for long. Studio Onoma, and many of the games developed by the former Square Enix Montreal will be shutting down.
The shut down was announced by Studio Onoma on Twitter on November 22, and while the studio’s closure may be sudden many fans will be more directly affected by many of its games also going under. These games include Deus Ex GO, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows, and a few others. You can find a full list of the affected games below.
- Arena Battle Champions
- Deus Ex GO
- Hitman Sniper: The Shadows
- Space Invaders: Hidden Heroes
While the games above have been explicitly named for removal, it’s unclear if other former Square Enix Montreal titles such as Lara Croft GO and Tomb Raider: Reloaded will be affected.
The reason for the shut down of this games is likely tied to Studio Onoma’s shut down. Square Enix sold many of its western development assets and some of its gaming IPs to Embracer Group, which elected to absorb the former Square Enix Montreal; many of the company’s staff will be transferred into Eidos Montreal.
Players will still be able to download and play the games until they are removed from digital storefronts on December 1. Players will be able to continue playing the games until they’re officially shut down on January 4. At the time of their announcement and “effective immediately” players will no longer be able to make in-game purchases and Studio Onoma encourages players to spend their existing in-game resource as they will not be refunded.
Eidos Montreal is another former Square Enix owned development studio that was purchased by Embracer Group earlier this year. It might be Embracer Group’s intention to consolidate the assets they received from Square Enix before putting them to work on new games and content. Eidos Montreal is known for working on larger titles than the mobile games that Square Enix Montreal was known for. Former titles from Eidos Montreal include Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Thief, and most recently Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Since their acquisition by Embracer Group, there have yet to be any games announced from Eidos Montreal. With the development team from Studio Onoma now under their leadership could it be time for a new project?
