is a Japanese

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, mainly known for their ''

Tenchu is an action-adventure stealth video game series, originally developed by Japanese developer Acquire, where the player assumes the role of a ninja in 16th-century Japan. The title in Japanese literally translates in English as "Divine Retributi ...

'' and ''

Way of the Samurai ''Way of the Samurai'', known in Japan as , is a PlayStation 2 action-adventure game developed by Acquire and released in 2002. Set in 19th century Japan, the player takes on the role of a rōnin who wanders into a remote village and becomes i ...

'' series. Acquire was founded on December 6, 1994, and in 1998 developed '' Tenchu: Stealth Assassins'' for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

, which turned into a franchise. The developer pushed for a more sandbox approach to the level design, which found its way in other Acquire titles like ''Way of the Samurai'' and '' Shinobido: Way of the Ninja''. In 2011, the company was acquired by

GungHo Online Entertainment is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. They are primarily known for hosting the Japanese server of ''Ragnarok Online'' (developed by its listed Korean subsidiary Gravity), as well as their development of ''Ragnarok DS'' for the Ninten ...

. Acquire co-developed ''

Octopath Traveler ''Octopath Traveler'' is a role-playing video game developed by Square Enix, in collaboration with Acquire. The game was released for the Nintendo Switch in July 2018, for Microsoft Windows in June 2019, for Stadia in April 2020, and for Xbox ...

'' with

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

, releasing in 2018. Acquire was chosen as development partner for the game based on their affinity with pixel-art and prior work on the '' What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?'' series. Acquire developed ''Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story'', which released in 2020, following the cancellation of a fifth ''Way of the Samurai'' entry.

Games developed

References

External links

Official website

Official website
(in English) Video game publishers GungHo Online Entertainment Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Video game companies established in 1994 Japanese companies established in 1994 Software companies based in Tokyo 2011 mergers and acquisitions {{Japan-videogame-company-stub