Atlus expands with opening of Studio Zero
New production team headed up by Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino, working on new fantasy project
Japanese developer and publisher Atlus has opened a brand new studio in order to work on more games.
Going by the moniker of Studio Zero, the new production team will be led by Katsura Hashino, previously the director of Persona 5. Famitsu, via Gematsu, reports he will take on the role of producer and director for Studio Zero's first game.
Said game is due to be announced this week via a live stream on December 23rd. Reports suggest it is a new fantasy RPG title, but not one that uses Atlus' popular Persona or Megaten franchises.
Going by a statement from Hashino on the new studio's official website, it seems the name of the new developer stems from having to start a new RPG IP from scratch.
"The Shin Megami Tensei series was released as an 'opposition' to such a 'common' world view, and the Persona series was released as its spin-off," Hashino writes. "Both series, even today in their latest entries, have always been made with the concept that it will be a counter to the times. And now, in addition to continuing the titles within those series, what will our approach to a new RPG be? That is, to challenge the norms of the genre gamers have been consuming for decades.
"The challenge is about to begin. We would be happy if you would stand by for the moment we began from zero and the moment we began our challenge from zero."