Atlus dissolved by Japanese parent company
But Index Holdings will keep Demon's Souls publisher's name alive for now
Update
An administrator for Atlus' official US forum has posted about the future of the company, reassuring fans about the company's projects.
"This is what Red and I are saying, over and over. Atlus is not becoming a mobile games company. The original story doesn't even say that. This is purely a corporate manoeuvring so that Index, which is a mobile games company, has easier access to Atlus IPs. That's all," he said.
Original story
Publisher Atlus has been dissolved as an independent entity by its parent company Index Holdings as of yesterday, a decision which the company has attributed to financial pressures.
A statement by Index Holdings on its website, cites a need to refocus it business efforts on "profitable core areas", reports Gamasutra. The statement indicates that the label's current projects will be unaffected and that the Atlus label will continue in some capacity for the time being.
Atlus was primarily a publisher of Japanese RPGs, with its most famous properties being Trauma Center and the Shin Megami Tensei series. The company had also seen recent success with the critically feted core RPG Demon's Souls. Atlus was acquired by Index Holdings in a 2006 stock purchase.
The highest profile project the company currently has in development is controversial PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 horror adventure Catherine.
A statement on the game's development blog by director Katsura Hashino said that the team "will endeavour to continue to work for a long time".
Atlus has been contacted for further information.