Forspoken studio Luminous Productions is officially merging with Square Enix. The publisher announced the news yesterday, confirming that it will absorb Luminous Productions into the company’s work force. Luminous was already one of Square Enix’s wholly owned subsidiaries but it looks like the developer will now operate under the Square banner instead of as its own development studio.
This comes in light of Forspoken‘s release which received a mixed reception from critics and fans. The game was praised for its visuals, freeflowing parkour and magical combat but also criticised for an unpleasant protagonist, uneven writing and a story that felt cut-and-paste from other similar fantasy narratives. It currently sits with a 67 average top critic score on OpenCritic, making it one of the first AAA games of 2023 to receive middling reviews.
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In the statement released by Luminous Productions, the studio reiterated that it’s committed to updating Forspoken and fixing any ongoing issues. “Between now and then we remain entirely focused on Forspoken,” said Luminous. “We are currently working on the previously announced patch to address overall game performance (we will deliver an update soon) and the downloadable content, ‘In Tanta We Trust’, is on track for release this summer.”
Luminous then thanked players for showing their support and allowing them to make Forspoken, despite the underwhelming reception:
“When we established Luminous Productions in 2018, our vision was to make AAA games that fused technology and artistry to deliver completely new play experiences. Having the chance to do just that has been a dream come true. We appreciate you taking this journey with us and look forward to continuing to create new entertainment and experiences as a part of the Square Enix family.”
Forspoken is currently available for PS5 and PC.
Source: Luminous Productions