Square Enix has revealed that it will merge Forspoken developer Luminous Productions, which is already one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, into the company. This moves comes after the game received mixed reviews, both by critics and users, and generally underperformed in sales for a first-party PS5 exclusive.
Square Enix still believes in Luminous’s “AAA title development capabilities”
An Update from Luminous Productions pic.twitter.com/fbDENflRhj
— Luminous Productions (@LumiPro_EN) February 28, 2023
Luminous Productions shared in a tweet (posted above) that its team will be folded into Square Enix beginning on May 1, 2023. Before that happens, the developer will be focused on a performance patch Forspoken as well as the “In Tanta We Trust” DLC that is “on track for release this summer.”
Square Enix shared more information on the merger in a statement, adding that this move will “further bolster the competitive prowess” of its studios. The publisher points out Luminous Production’s “AAA title development capabilities” and expertise in game engine development. That last bit isn’t too much of a surprise given that Luminous Productions was in part created to emphasize Square Enix’s proprietary Luminous Engine.
In addition to being review bombed on Metacritic, Forspoken has a 64 Metascore for the PS5 version of the game. On Steam, user reviews have been “mixed” overall with only 59% giving it a positive thumbs up. It also struggled on the sales charts, with the game debuting in seventh place in the US/Canada chart in January 2023’s PS Store download charts.
