Just a few weeks after Square Enix Montreal announced its rebrand to “Onoma”, Embracer Group has shut down the newly acquired studio. This comes just months after Embracer Group acquired the former western studios belonging to Square Enix, including Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics along with a whole host of IPs.
The move looks to be a cost-cutting measure. At least some members of the Onoma team are moving to Eidos Montreal. Eidos Montreal is now apparently working with Microsoft on a new Fable game that may or may not be the same new Fable project being worked on by Playground Games. Eidos Montreal is also canceling one of its current projects and scaling back another. The closing of Onoma on its own will impact 200 employees.
Onoma as a studio was known for its mobile games. It created mobile games for Hitman, Tomb Raider, and Deus Ex to name a few marque properties. Onoma was one of the many studios that Embracer Group acquired throughout the year to increase its footprint in different development spaces as well as to gain the rights to big name IPs. It’s unclear if Embracer Group will pursue more mobile games using its new IPs or what studio would head those efforts with Onoma now shuttered.
Image from: Embracer Group
