Final Fantasy XV team forms Square Enix's new studio Luminous Productions
Staff led by FFXV director Hajime Tabata will be working on AAA new IP for Japanese publisher
Square Enix has opened a new studio in Tokyo, Japan to create new blockbuster franchises - led by the talent behind one of its biggest hits.
Luminous Productions is headed up by COO and studio boss Hajime Tabata, who served as game director on 2016's Final Fantasy XV. The publisher has also indicated that a significant number of Luminous employees are also former FFXV developers.
According to the official release, the new studio's goal is "developing new AAA titles and bringing innovative game and other entertainment content to a global audience", with indications that the team will be core to Square Enix's plans for new IP.
So far there is no information on what the studio's first project is, but the Luminous Productions website has plenty of grand slogans about the team's philosophy on breaking new ground, if you're so inclined.
The reference to "other entertainment content" is interesting given the transmedia strategy attempted with Final Fantasy XV. The game's narrative was set up by a feature-length CGI movie starring Game of Thrones' Sean Bean and Lena Headey, while the protagonists were introduced via an anime webseries ahead of the title's release.
When we spoke to Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda a few months ago, he told us the publisher was interested in further exploring this strategy on a case-by-case basis, but that the company's future remained "rooted in the games industry."
It's no surprise the Final Fantasy XV team, and its director, have been entrusted with creating the firm's next AAA franchise. The game sold five million copies in a single day, the biggest launch in the 30-year-old series' history, and helped drive the publisher to record profits.
Of course, FFXV benefitted from a particularly lengthy production cycle and it's unlikely we'll have to wait that long to see what Luminous Productions is cooking up.