A report published by Bloomberg has revealed that Embracer Group is shutting down Onoma. As per the report, the studio’s closure is “part of a larger cost-cutting initiative”, which will also see developer Eidos Montreal cancelling an unannounced project, and reducing the scope of another one. Previous reports have suggested that Eidos Montreal is currently at work on a new IP.

Embracer Group has informed Onoma employees that some of them will be transferred over to Eidos Montreal. The closure will impact roughly 200 employees in total.

As Square Enix Montreal, the studio developed a number of mobile games in major franchises, including the likes of Lara Croft GO, Deus Ex GO, Hitman GO, and more.

The studio has announced via a new official website that it has rebranded as Studio Onoma. The new brand will “serve as an umbrella to multiple products, programs, and initiatives, each with distinct personalities”, the studio says, which says it has designed itself “to be flexible to see us into the future, connect with multiple audiences, and not hinder us from expanding with the market.”

Why “Onoma” though?

“Onoma is Greek for name and names offer endless possibilities,” the studio explains. “Names breathe life into objects, persons, or concepts; bring them to the world – real or imagined. It is the start of a new experience, an invitation to go on a new journey. As game makers, we are creators of new experiences, of new paths.”

As Square Enix Montreal, the development team was focused almost entirely on producing mobile titles based on major properties, including games such as Lara Croft GO, Deus Ex GO, Hitman GO, Hitman Sniper, and Hitman Sniper: The Shadows. 

In addition to the three studios, the company now also owns a number of major former Square Enix intellectual properties, including the likes of Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, and Thief, along with over 50 back-catalog titles.

The new acquisitions will operate under a new publishing label formed by Embracer, which will be the company’s 12th operating group, led by Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix Europe and North America. The name of the operating group hasn’t yet been unveiled. Recently, it announced and established Freemode as its 11th operating group.

As for what we can expect from these newly-acquired studios in the future, that remains to be seen. Crystal Dynamics has started development on the next Tomb Raider game, and is also co-developing Perfect Dark alongside Microsoft’s The Initiative, while work on Marvel’s Avengers also continues. Meanwhile, Eidos Montreal is reportedly developing a new IP.

Embracer Group has previously also said that Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics will both be working on “very sizable AAA experiences” based on “beloved franchises as well as original IPs”. The company has also said that in addition to new instalments, it’ll also look into developing remakes, remasters, and spinoffs based on its newly acquired IPs.

Embracer Group’s spree of acquisitions, meanwhile, has continued in recent weeks, with the company having acquired the likes of Limited Run Games, Tripwire Interactive, and more, in addition to the IP rights for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

In its recent quarterly fiscal briefing, the Embracer Group said that not only does it see potential in making sequels for these franchises, but also remakes, remasters, spinoffs, and more.

“We see a great potential, not only in sequels, but also in remakes, remasters, spinoffs as well as transmedia projects across the Group,” the company wrote.

The Embracer Group has been known to release remakes and remasters for a number of its acquired properties over the years, including the likes of Destroy All Humans!, Kingdoms of Amalur, and SpongeBob SquarePants, to name a few, so it won’t be surprising to see the acquired Square Enix properties getting a similar treatment- and that’s sure to be something that gets fans excited. For instance, there are no few people out there who would give anything for a Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver remake.

Of course, the acquisition hasn’t yet been finalized. According to the Embracer Group, the ink will dry on the deal sometime in Q3 of this year, which is the July-September period, so it’ll be a while before we get any official announcements.

Shortly after the acquisition was announced, it was confirmed that Crystal Dynamics would continue to co-developed the upcoming Perfect Dark with Xbox first party studio The Initiative. Meanwhile, it’s also been confirmed that the Crystal Dynamics-developed Marvel’s Avengers and the Eidos Montreal-developed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy are also included in the acquisition, though those specific points will still require Disney’s approval.

It also allows Square Enix to launch new businesses and move forward with “investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud. The move is based on the policy of business structure optimization that the Company set forth under the medium-term business strategy unveiled on May 13, 2021.” This lines up with the company ramping up its plans for NFTs this year.

Square Enix can also “better align” its Tokyo organization with its overseas publishing along with revisiting “the current governance structure and associated reporting lines, and advance integrated group management with the goal of maximizing the worldwide revenue generated from future titles launched by the group’s studios in Japan and abroad.”

The company’s developers will consist of Square Enix External Studios, the Square Enix Collective and its Japan studios. It will also continue to publish franchises like Life is Strange, People Can Fly’s Outriders and Avalanche Studios’ Just Cause.

As such, the Embracer Group’s acquisition is expected to be finalized by Q2 of its 2022/2023 financial year. Along with IPs like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, Thief and so on, it will also own a back-catalogue of over 50 titles. In the meantime, companies like Perfect Dark developer The Initiative will continue working with Crystal Dynamics even after the deal.

Lars Wingefors, co-founder and group CEO of the Embracer Group, stated, ”We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group. We recognize the fantastic IP, world class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer.”

Phil Rogers, Square Enix America and Europe CEO, said, ”Embracer is the best kept secret in gaming: a massive, decentralized collection of entrepreneurs whom we are thrilled to become a part of today. It is the perfect fit for our ambitions: make high-quality games, with great people, sustainably, and grow our existing franchises to their best versions ever. Embracer allows us to forge new partnerships across all media to maximize our franchises’ potential and live our dreams of making extraordinary entertainment.”

The three studios comprise about 1100 employees across eight locations worldwide. These acquisitions are only the latest in Embracer’s spree – it’s acquired the likes of Aspyr Media (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake), 4A Games (Metro Exodus), Ghost Ship Games (Deep Rock Galactic), Perfect World Entertainment (Neverwinter), Dark Horse Media and much more. It recently completed its merger with Gearbox Entertainment.

It’s unclear what this could mean for future projects like Tomb Raider (with the next game using Unreal Engine 5) or ongoing games-as-a-service titles like Marvel’s Avengers. Then again, it does mean some potentially new projects for franchises like Legacy of Kain and Deus Ex, which have been dormant for years now. The Embracer Group had previously announced plans to release over 25 triple-A titles by April 2026, so stay tuned for more details.

It’s no secret that Square Enix is making a big push for mobile in the coming year. To further lean into that, it’s announced Project Hitman Sniper Assassins (working title). Developed by the makers of Hitman Sniper, it features new assassins and a “wholly original Hitman story.”

Developed by Square Enix Montreal, it will also brand-new gameplay features. Though no gameplay was revealed in the teaser trailer, sniping at least appears to be making a comeback. There will also likely be co-op missions, perhaps with more than two players. Expect more details in the coming months.

Project Hitman Sniper Assassins is out in 2021 for iOS and Android. Other Square Enix mobile titles that are worth keeping an eye on include Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, a battle royale title with guns, melee combat and Summons that releases this year. There’s also Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, a remake of the entire compilation of Final Fantasy 7. It’s out in 2022 and will see additional story chapters added for free.

Square Enix Montreal brought a lot of their properties to mobiles in a big way, with Deus Ex GO, Tomb Raider GO, and Hitman GO adapting those IP for mobiles as great puzzle games that simultaneously managed to stay true to the spirit of the franchise. Sadly, however, it seems like there won’t be any more of these games made going forward.

Speaking to PC Games Insider (via Pocket Gamer), studio head Patrick Naud noted that the mobile market is not favorable for paid games and apps- and that that has caused Square Enix Montreal to reassess continued work on the series.

“I have to say no [we’re not working on other Go games], I’m sorry,” Naud said. “The Go series was a great adventure for us as a studio. We’ve done the three games, we’ve seen the wind. The hardest element is making premium games on mobile.

“It’s one of the challenges we have today is the premium mobile market is diminishing. You’ve got more and more high-quality free titles so there are even fewer and fewer people inclined to try something that will not be free.

“Despite the critical success and the great revenue we’ve had, it’s sad to see that our games are only played by a small slither of the population because of the price point. That’s such a big barrier for mobile users. A lot of people consume mobile games only and they have all these options, all these games; why should they invest money in this one unless they’re very convinced?

“That doesn’t mean they won’t spend in-game, but they want to spend on a game that they’re sure they’re going to like. The perception of choice makes it that even if it’s only $5, that’s too much.”

It’s a shame that it has come to this, but it is hard to deny the truth of his words- the mobile market does not value games. It won’t spend money on a game, not even as much as it would on a coffee- why should it, when there are countless free alternatives? Unfortunately, this also means that high quality premium mobile games, like the GO games, suffer as a result.

It’s a shame- but if you have yet to check these titles out, I do encourage you to pick up your phone and purchase them. They’re worth the money, and they are very, very, very good.

You may or may not know of Teddy Diefenbach; the man worked on the indie gem Hyper Light Drifter, and went on to join Square Enix’s Montreal studio two years ago. However, today, he confirmed that he is leaving the studio, and returning to work to independent game development.

The reason that he cites is the cancellation of the game that he was working on with his team. “My team were working on a game that I deeply wish we could have shared with you,” Diefenbach wrote on his personal website. “But the business strategy of the studio shifted, and our project was sadly no longer compatible.”

Presumably, the change in strategy here was a move toward a GaaS style game, which is something Square Enix has been transitioning its games and studios towards over the past year or so now.

It’s a shame that we never got to see what Diefenbach, who is so obviously talented, could have achieved with the backing and budget of a AAA studio; that said, given how great Hyper Light Drifter was, it’s clear that he needs neither of those for his talent to shine through either.

Hitman Go is a board game-style video game. Control a monopoly-like Agent 47 figurine by going from a starting node, through strict, predetermined paths and ending on a finish node. Just make sure to reach the finish node before getting taken out by other roaming enemy figurines, on these one screen levels. It sounds cute, right? It is. Especially when you make a wrong move and Agent 47 gets “caught” and falls over hard like a King piece in a chess game. That’s right, there’s no blood or violence to speak of in this adventure; just a simple an on screen board game.

What’s the difference between the mobile and console versions of this game? The mobile version only has a few levels while offering other levels as add-on DLC. The console version gives not only the original game but also all the add-ons, including Airport, Opera, and St. Petersburg levels, at no additional cost. With the added feature of actually being able to use a physical controller and (if you choose to purchase on the PS4) on a much larger screen, the console version may be your best bet after all.

Navigating paths, going from node to node is almost always a puzzle challenge in itself, but is usually predetermined from the start. Getting from point A to point B only requires pressing one of any button on the d-pad. Getting to that finish node while collecting briefcases, sometimes not killing anyone, and other mini challenges (that ultimately can be ignored) demands a specific, unaltered path to gain perfect victory.

"Instead, we’re left with a lifeless, drab, uninspired, linear path to victory that really sucks a lot of fun out. Navigating paths, going from node to node is almost always a puzzle challenge in itself, but is usually predetermined from the start."

These ‘unaltered paths” I speak of are ways to finish challenges and puzzles perfectly and gain every level achievement in the process. Now, you can choose to go from beginning to end without participating in doing any level challenges, but what’s the fun in that? There’s nothing else to do in the game besides those. If you choose to ignore them, you can go through these node paths from a few different angles. If you want a perfect score, the game almost always requires you to go down a path that is already predetermined and cannot be altered.

Enemy figurines, early on face one specific way and stay in one spot. Later on they change their viewing angle and move to many different positions. Each enemy can only be take out if they are on a node that Agent 47 can step onto within that turn. If Agent 47 steps on a node that is face-to-face with the enemy and zero steps away in their line of sight, it will always take that extra step and knock Agent 47 out.

Aside from janky stealth — such as hiding in a potted plant — there are a few different ways to distract enemies or get around them without causing any trouble. Throwing items in specific and often key locations can distract enemies to revert their attention towards an alternate route from which they were going to take. Manholes are also lightly implemented where Agent 47 can dip into a covered node and pop out onto a different node, allowing him to sneak by otherwise impossible to cross enemies. They’ve also thrown in single-use weapons and colored costumes that allow you to appear as certain guard figurines within specific levels.

"Now, you can choose to go from beginning to end without participating in doing any level challenges, but what’s the fun in that? There’s nothing else to do in the game besides those."

Another trivial but often annoying thing Hitman Go suffers from are miniature load screens between levels and when restarting a level — which will be done several times until you find the perfect formula for finishing. These load times are only around five to six seconds long, but when reloading has to be done over and over it can become tiresome. But it’s nothing major.

Lastly, and most importantly is the annoyance of the controller layout. Swiping on Vita in which direction you’d like Agent 47 to go is available much like on the mobile version of the game. This isn’t true for the PS4 version, however. When playing through any given diorama level, angles sometimes change, or give a confusing isometric-style point of view. This makes it difficult to determine up, down, left, right. As angles change, so do the controls with it, and without being informed. I often found myself pressing the wrong button and missing opportunities to complete levels stylishly and quickly because of these weird isometric takes.

Overall, Hitman Go is a good, but fleetingly trivial mobile game. It offers little to the imagination of allowing the players to choose their own paths when almost all of them are predetermined. Playing this on PS4 just seems like a waste of good TV time, but going out on the streets with the Vita for a few minutes here or there won’t be so bad.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 4.