Grasshopper Manufacture has been acquired by Japanese publisher GungHo Online Entertainment for an undisclosed fee.
GungHo, which is also the parent company of Tenchu developer Acquire, specialises in publishing online multiplatform games and is best known for its popular MMORPG Ragnarok Online and mobile game Puzzle & Dragons.
Grasshopper founder Goichi ‘Suda51’ Suda and his team will continue to work at the studio, which has developed titles including Killer 7, No More Heroes, Lollipop Chainsaw and Shadows of the Damned. Games already in development before the acquisition will be unaffected by the deal and remain under existing publishing terms. GungHo said today that more information on upcoming Grasshopper projects will be revealed in the coming months.
GungHo CEO Kazuki Morishita said of the deal: “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. 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.”
Suda also commented: “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.”
