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Aniplex Acquires DelightWorks (Fate/Grand Order), Forms Lasengle Co., Ltd

Ishaan

Ishaan

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Localization, Historian, Reporter
Aniplex, Sony Music Entertainment's anime/music production and publishing company, has acquired the game development arm of DelightWorks, the developer behind the immensely popular Fate/Grand Order. The deal, which is via a share transfer agreement, is scheduled to go through in Spring 2022, once it has been approved by all the requisite authorities.

Once the transaction is complete, it will result in DelightWorks being spun off into a new company.

Update, Feb 1st, 2022: Fate/Grand Order's producer has left the company to go independent.

Update, Dec 28th, 2021: The new company will be named Lasengle Co., Ltd. and Yoshinori Ono will serve as its representative director.

[Original post continues below.]

Going forward, the Fate/Grand Order production committee will consist of Aniplex, Type Moon (the creators of Fate and Tsukihime), and the new DelightWorks company. The goal of this entire arrangement is for Aniplex to deepen its collaboration with Type-Moon and DelightWorks, and continue to grow Fate/Grand Order, which is presently in its seventh year of operation. Additionally, there are plans to further grow the game business activities of the entire combined group.

In addition to developing Fate/Grand Order, DelightWorks and its parent company DelightWorks Co., Ltd. served as the publisher of Melty Blood: Type Lumina, the recently-released reboot of the Tsukihime fighting game spin-off.

The remaining portion of DelightWorks Co., Ltd. (ie; barring the game dev arm) will continue with its business activities as-is, and will not be part of Aniplex.




As an aside, in case you missed it, Yoshinori Ono, best known as the producer behind Street Fighter IV and Deep Down at Capcom, joined DelightWorks Co., Ltd. a few months ago, and serves as its President and COO. It is presently unclear whether he will be moving to Aniplex or not, but he's in charge of videogame planning, development, and operations at DelightWorks Co., Ltd.

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As for Fate/Grand Order itself, the game is still booming even in its seventh year. Sensor Tower reported that F/GO was the #4 mobile game in terms of worldwide revenue this past August, with $133.8 million in player spending. To date, the game has earned over $5.5 billion in lifetime player spending.

Source: 「Fate/Grand Order」を中心としたゲーム開発事業の子会社化に関するお知らせ

Source: Yoshinori Ono joins DelightWorks Co., Ltd.

Source: Global mobile games market generates $7.7bn in August
 
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Given Aniplex's track record, doesn't seem like this will have much knock-on effect for PlayStation. Folks may remember Aniplex most recently publishing (at least in Japan), the CyberConnect2-developed Kimetsu no Yaiba fighting game, which was multiplatform.
 
From what I remember when we last discussed them Delightworks seemed to have been losing a lot of staff over the last few years, and Sakura Kakumei was a massive failure for them.
 
Kinoko Nasu mentioned in an interview that he had made arrangements with Aniplex and Delightworks to "ending" FGO with the conclusion of Part 2, so I wonder if that deal was altered in any way or if it simply meant that Type Moon personally would leave game development but DW/Aniplex could keep it going as they wish.
 
What a win from DW there. Selling incompetent dev arms which had been leading FGO to its downward spiral as well as losing 100+ devs during Sakura Kakumei and Baba fiasco.

This is literally aniplex just saving FGO but chained with one of the worse mobage devs in japan.
 
AruanaRiva said:
What a win from DW there. Selling incompetent dev arms which had been leading FGO to its downward spiral as well as losing 100+ devs during Sakura Kakumei and Baba fiasco.

This is literally aniplex just saving FGO but chained with one of the worse mobage devs in japan.
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Wasn't FGO DW's most profitable works? Unless their non-game divisions have big potential gains that was held back due to the soon-to-be gone game division, I don't see how this doesn't result in them becoming incredibly obscure afterwards.
 
Nokia said:
Frontline JP article
This article has Ono's comments on the acquisition, based on which sounds like he's staying with DW after all?
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It...does sound like he's moving to the new DelightWorks unit under Aniplex? Wonder if we'll get more concrete confirmation from him soon.
 
Interesting............ DW had Sakura Kakumei failure, was losing staff and FGO, despite still being stable, isn't that force to be reckoned it was years ago. I'd say it's a good move from DW if they didn't saw themselves being able to create new hits in the gaming market anymore. Poor Ono though. Latest Melty Blood was a sucessful venture. Probably came too late.
Also, Baba is really cursed isn't he? First Project Prelude Rune and his division at SQEnix were shelved. Sakura Kakumei was a blooding failure for all parties involved and he also got some shades throw at his Tales of works from Tales of current producer.
 
I wonder if FGO 2 is in development or they'll commit to FGO until it no longer makes sufficient revenue.
 
SoonyXboneUhh said:
How big / how many developers has the mobile publishing arm of Sony?
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Playstation? 0, Forwardworks was just a publisher and is gone, while the new US-based one is also a publisher and doesn't appear to have started any significant operation yet.
SMEJ? Not much there either, they have Forwardworks (which, as mentioned earlier, is more of a publisher) and now DelightWorks via Aniplex.
 
Nokia said:
Wasn't FGO DW's most profitable works? Unless their non-game divisions have big potential gains that was held back due to the soon-to-be gone game division, I don't see how this doesn't result in them becoming incredibly obscure afterwards.
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FGO is successful despite having DW rather than DW carrying it to success. Fate IP is what makes FGO survive its very bad early release disaster.
 
Nokia said:
Wasn't FGO DW's most profitable works? Unless their non-game divisions have big potential gains that was held back due to the soon-to-be gone game division, I don't see how this doesn't result in them becoming incredibly obscure afterwards.
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Maybe they can release an "FGO 2" down the line? They can take the opportunity to take a break and revamp everything. Or maybe they can license another IP.
 
Amazing that Sony still saw value in DW despite the string of failures they've had.

But someone has to keep on updating FGO for the next decade, I suppose.

AruanaRiva said:
What a win from DW there. Selling incompetent dev arms which had been leading FGO to its downward spiral as well as losing 100+ devs during Sakura Kakumei and Baba fiasco.
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If anything, this is the nail in the coffin for DW. What can they even do without working on FGO anymore?
 
icecream said:
Amazing that Sony still saw value in DW despite the string of failures they've had.

But someone has to keep on updating FGO for the next decade, I suppose.


If anything, this is the nail in the coffin for DW. What can they even do without working on FGO anymore?
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DW had business outside gaming there. So i think they are going to return to those business and life goes on as usual.

Pancracio17 said:
Maybe they can release an "FGO 2" down the line? They can take the opportunity to take a break and revamp everything. Or maybe they can license another IP.
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Mobile game and sequel is usually disaster. I can hardly think of a single sequel being success on mobile game market lol.(Gacha ones)
 
AruanaRiva said:
Mobile game and sequel is usually disaster. I can hardly think of a single sequel being success on mobile game market lol.(Gacha ones)
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Priconne ReDive, technically.

AruanaRiva said:
DW had business outside gaming there. So i think they are going to return to those business and life goes on as usual.
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Most of their gaming and franchise products were centered around FSN/FGO though. Assuming that Aniplex bought the development arm so they could take everything internally and reap the profits between themselves and Typemoon, there's not much left for DW.
 
Refyref said:
Playstation? 0, Forwardworks was just a publisher and is gone, while the new US-based one is also a publisher and doesn't appear to have started any significant operation yet.
SMEJ? Not much there either, they have Forwardworks (which, as mentioned earlier, is more of a publisher) and now DelightWorks via Aniplex.
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ForwardWorks is still around.
forwardworks.com

あそびは、ここから。 - 株式会社フォワードワークス

株式会社フォワードワークスは、スマートフォン向けゲームアプリの企画・開発を通して、新しい遊びの創造に取り組みます。 #ForwardWorks
forwardworks.com forwardworks.com
 
ILikeFeet said:
Maybe Aniplex will have them make a more premium mobile experience. Chasing trends like Genshin or some shit
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I doubt they have the skill sets there. Even Sega tried making more premium mobile game experience and the game died in 6 months.

icecream said:
Priconne ReDive, technically.



Most of their gaming and franchise products were centered around FSN/FGO though. Assuming that Aniplex bought the development arm so they could take everything internally and reap the profits between themselves and Typemoon, there's not much left for DW.
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I never know Priconne is sequel there. Hortensia Saga R(2 in a way) is such disaster and many other games makes me feel that gacha mobage is cursed to ever had good sequel lol.

I think, they should still have contract there regarding the franchising of Fate series. So we can see DW slowly becoming TPC like who manage Fate franchise merchandise.
 
Refyref said:
They're now under SMEJ instead of SIEJ, which is what I wrote in that post.
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My apologies, I misunderstood.

On topic, I wonder if they'll put development into another Fate game to complement Grand Order? Or if this is purely a preservation move for Grand Order's continued development and success.
 
JB2448 said:
My apologies, I misunderstood.

On topic, I wonder if they'll put development into another Fate game to complement Grand Order? Or if this is purely a preservation move for Grand Order's continued development and success.
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It's more likely for bolstering the headcount for their mobile efforts than for anything new for Fate, as that would be up to Type-Moon, not them.
 
ILikeFeet said:


there's our answer
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There we go. Aniplex got themselves quite the deal. I'm not sure how they managed to negotiate this, but regardless of what people may think of DelightWorks, their staff has racked up a ton of experience operating a long-running mobile game by now, and with a good product manager at the helm, they're more than equipped to handle whatever's next for F/GO.

Let's just hope they're treated better under Aniplex than they were at DelightWorks Co., Ltd. Ono knows just how stressful this industry can get better than most, so hopefully he'll arrange for better working conditions for his employees.
 
Ishaan said:
There we go. Aniplex got themselves quite the deal. I'm not sure how they managed to negotiate this, but regardless of what people may think of DelightWorks, their staff has racked up a ton of experience operating a long-running mobile game by now, and with a good product manager at the helm, they're more than equipped to handle whatever's next for F/GO.

Let's just hope they're treated better under Aniplex than they were at DelightWorks Co., Ltd. Ono knows just how stressful this industry can get better than most, so hopefully he'll arrange for better working conditions for his employees.
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I think there's a good chance Ono was hired specifically to get this deal(or similar through) through. You hire someone experienced and known in the industry to make the company more attractive, especially when they had obviously had some issues.
 
Ishaan said:
There we go. Aniplex got themselves quite the deal. I'm not sure how they managed to negotiate this, but regardless of what people may think of DelightWorks, their staff has racked up a ton of experience operating a long-running mobile game by now, and with a good product manager at the helm, they're more than equipped to handle whatever's next for F/GO.

Let's just hope they're treated better under Aniplex than they were at DelightWorks Co., Ltd. Ono knows just how stressful this industry can get better than most, so hopefully he'll arrange for better working conditions for his employees.
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DWorks from what we know is bleeding huge talent last year thanks to Baba and failed Sakura Wars mobage project. And DWorks even since its inception till now has never shown to be really good in producing products though.

Feels like this is more or less obligation purchase from Aniplex if they want to ensure FGO still want to keep going despite its heavy decline. I doubt that DW will get any more big project in the future there. They don't seems to possess the skillset there
 
Oregano said:
I think there's a good chance Ono was hired specifically to get this deal(or similar through) through. You hire someone experienced and known in the industry to make the company more attractive, especially when they had obviously had some issues.
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That would make a lot of sense, yeah. What I don't understand is why the parent company would be looking to offload its gaming division when there's clearly so much money to be made in that market.
 
Delightworks has announced that the new company will be named Lasengle Co., Ltd. and Yoshinori Ono will serve as its representative director. (Yes, he's moving)

Source
 
Relevant to this story: the producer of Fate/Grand Order, Yosuke Shiokawa, has left Delightworks to go independent. Shiokawa joined Delightworks in 2016 and is credited with playing a major role in turning F/GO around after a shaky launch. He then expanded it to board games and arcade games.

Prior to joining Delightworks, Shiokawa was employed at Square Enix, and worked on a number of major titles in a lead role:

Kingdom Hearts II (Lead Planner)​
Dissidia: Final Fantasy (Concept Director)​
I Am Setsuna (Concept Director)​
Murdered: Soul Suspect (Story Writer & Creative Direction)​

As reported by Bloomberg, Shiokawa’s new studio, Fahrenheit 213, is owned by him and will develop new franchises rather than working on existing titles. A quote given to Bloomberg states: “I plan to focus my career on creating new game franchises for any platform, regardless of their size. Going independent opens up many opportunities to partner with other companies.”
 
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AruanaRiva said:
Well that certainly dont spell confidence there.
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I don't think that it indicates lack of confidence in Delightworks' chances for success, one way or another. It sounds to me more like he felt he will be relegated to specific franchises, possibly on specific platforms, with no say on his part, and that was not what he wanted. "I plan to focus my career on creating new game franchises for any platform, regardless of their size"
 
The PR just states that Lasengle Co. Ltd. is functional as of today. There's a little more information on the company's new website, including a brief post by Ono, who reveals that Lasengle was named by Kinoko Nasu of Type-Moon.

As part of the inauguration of Lasengle, players will be given 10 Holy Grail items in F/GO.
 
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this. If only because I don't see the upside of Aniplex owning Delightworks outside of keeping the FGO barge sailing. That said, it makes sense to me that Ono would have guided Delightworks into Aniplex's arms, his connections to SIE would be extensive.
 
duvjones said:
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this. If only because I don't see the upside of Aniplex owning Delightworks outside of keeping the FGO barge sailing. That said, it makes sense to me that Ono would have guided Delightworks into Aniplex's arms, his connections to SIE would be extensive.
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His connections wouldn't have anything to do with it. DelightWorks' bread and butter if FGO, and Aniplex is the license-holder
 
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