Bandai Namco announced the acquisition of Montreal-based Reflector Entertainment, co-founded by ex-Creative Director at Ubisoft. The studio is now making its first game Unknown 9: Awakening.
Bandai Namco expects to close the deal Q4 2020, with no amount disclosed. The companies will also need to get approval from Canadian regulators to finalize the deal.
The acquisition of Reflector Entertainment is the first step in Bandai Namco’s “strategy to build Western development capabilities.” Gradually, the publisher plans to move the production of half of its content outside of Japan.
Reflector Entertainment is co-founded by Alexandre Amancio, who previously worked at Ubisoft on Assassin’s Creed Unity and Revelations. Following the deal, he will step down as CEO to become the studio’s Chief Creative Officer.
The team now includes 120 people who are working on their first game, Unknown 9: Awakening. The developers note that the project is part of a multimedia franchise that includes videogames, novels, podcasts, movies and more.
Unknown 9 was announced at Gamescom 2020. Reflector Entertainment describes its debut project as follows: “Our game features a complex heroine that must come to terms with who she is. The game is set in the Unknown 9 universe, a modern Storyworld that centers on humanity being on the edge of either transcendence or self-destruction.”
The release of Unknown 9 is scheduled for 2021 on PC, PlayStation and Xbox.