Despite the success of the Atlus brand, which is responsible for tons of RPGs like the Persona franchise, Index Corporation has reportedly filed for government-managed rehabilitation – which in Japan means they’ve gone for bankruptcy with CEO/president Yoshimi Ogawa Ochiai and board chairman Masami Ochiai intending to resign before the process begin.
Index Corporation owes 24.5 billion yen or $249 million following some failed acquisitions, and is currently seeking a sponsor or partner to pick up the games division in order to keep Atlus going.
As if the net loss of 2.263 billion yen or $23 million that the company suffered during the second fiscal quarter of 2013 wasn’t enough, Index is also under investigation for improper accounting through fake transactions, with the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission of Japan getting in on the act.
Hopefully, there will be publishers interested in picking up Atlus as when American publisher THQ filed for bankruptcy and auctioned of its studios and IPs.