Square Enix has announced the establishment of a new development studio, Luminous Productions. Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata will be the head of the new studio. According to the press release, Luminous Productions has been established with the purpose of developing new AAA titles and building innovative games, as well as other entertainment content which will cater to a global audience. The new Square Enix studio will be staffed with members of the creative team behind Final Fantasy XV.
The press release also mentions that Luminous Productions will be involved in developing new intellectual properties alongside other development studios under Square Enix’s vision. However, any current or future projects have not been disclosed by Square Enix, merely stating that “more information regarding Luminous Productions’ new projects will be revealed at a later date.”
The new studio will be based in Tokyo, Japan. A quick trip to Luminous Productions’ official site reveals that numerous job openings have been listed. They’re looking for people to take up positions, which includes Game Designer, 3D Character Artist, Game Programmer, Global Project Manager and many more.
A more detailed look at one of the positions, specifically Project Manager, reveals that the studio is challenging its team of developers who previously worked on Final Fantasy XV, to “create a game and business model 10 years ahead of its time.” This is very familiar ground since Final Fantasy XV also took roughly a decade or so before it was finally released.
All of this probably means that Luminous Productions will be here for the long haul and aims to develop the next ‘Final Fantasy XV‘ for the next generation. We look forward to hearing more about the new studio and its upcoming projects in the near future.
In other news, we reported last month on what the head honchos of Final Fantasy XV had to say about mod support in games. Tabata was involved too, and they all had a lot to say on the subject, especially with Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition receiving official mod support.
