Square Enix dissolves another studio

It seems that Forspoken was not deemed a success, as Luminous Productions, the game's creators, have been dissolved. Now, their company is folded into the main Square Enix branch. News of the merger broke on Luminous Production's main Twitter page, with an update explaining the situation posted there.

The Luminous Production Twitter post described that from May 1, the Luminous Production team would merge with Square Enix fully. Previously, Luminous Productions was an autonomous developer working under the Square Enix umbrella, a common practice with video game developers. 

Luminous Productions were the developers of the RPG game Forspoken, released in January 2023 to mixed reviews. In our Forspoken review, we said that it's a "refreshing fantasy RPG held back by its open-world design." The game's development was tumultuous, with several high-profile delays, only to release to a tepid reception. Much criticism was leveled at the writing and opening sections of the game, although reviewers favorably commented on the gameplay.

Related: All Founts of Blessing (Spell) Locations in Forspoken

Forspoken was created using the Luminous Engine, the engine behind Final Fantasy XIV and the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI. While the obvious conclusion many will draw from the folding of Luminous Productions is that it was tied to the luke-warm reception of Forspoken, it's also equally likely that it's linked to the development of FFXVI, a game set to be a landmark project for Square Enix.

Whatever the reason, though, it seems the priority for soon-to-be-former Luminous Production staff is to continue making AAA-quality games. And hopefully, they can do that within Square Enix.

For more Forspoken news and guides, check out Forspoken Giant Nightmares and Breakstorms explained on Pro Game Guides.