As a reminder, Square Enix Montreal became Onoma last month after merging with Square Enix London Mobile in one of the most surprising deals in recent years, Square Enix getting rid of its largest Western Development subsidiary for $300 Million euros, the package includes Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, Square Enix Montreal and dozens of licenses including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Kane’s Legacy.
By joining Embracer, the three studios form a new subsidiary to be managed independently of the rest of the group, which is massive, of course, but still ultimately unaccustomed to financing blockbusters. It only took a month for this new entity to nail down the Square Enix Montreal team known for Hitman GO, Lara Croft GO, Deus Ex GO, Hitman Sniper and Hitman Sniper: The Shadows at last in a used team with no future stacking Studios of all sizes rarely talk about layoffs. We also know that some of the 200 employees at Onoma/Square Enix Montreal will have the opportunity to join Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics”the farther the better“, but the vast majority of studio members will have to look for work outside the band.
Eidos Montreal: A New License, A New Deus Ex and… Allegory?
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier further shed light on this reversal, in part due to a desire to reduce costs incurred by the former Square Enix studio and focus on console and PC game production. At the end of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol., we learned that Eidos Montreal had to review its roadmap. Jason Schreier reveals an unannounced game inspired by Stranger Things It was cancelled and replaced by a new licence, but its ambitions were downgraded.
Meanwhile, Deus Ex fans will be happy to know that production on the new series has only just begun. Meanwhile, Eidos Montreal will take on the role of co-developer, helping Microsoft with some of its projects, starting with Playground Games’ Fable, which has never ceased to appear. As a reminder, Crystal Dynamics itself has answered Microsoft’s call to assist The Initiative in making Perfect Dark, while in charge of the next Tomb Raider.