Rumor: Japanese Developer Treasure Could Be Done Making Video Games

guardian heroes 03-23-16-1

We’ve learned of a rumor (via NeoGAF) surrounding independent Japanese developer Treasure.

The developer, known for classic action games like Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes, Mischief Makers, and Ikagura, is reportedly going to cease game development production.


In the podcast (via Giantbomb) Japanese localization company 8-4’s Mark Mcdonald and John Ricciardi said the developer is now essentially a licensing company, re-using their older games and IPs.

According to the 8-4 folks, the company’s president, Masato Maegawa, is “still around,” Treasure still exists and was always essentially run by Maegawa himself, meaning they’re not necessarily in trouble of closing their doors.

They speculate (Editor’s Note: this is pure speculation) that the developer’s latest outing, Gaist Crusher, didn’t perform well and furthered their decision to simply focus on licensing out their IPs for now, saying they could still resurface with a new game in the future.

It’s worth mentioning back in 2014 the developer teased an original PC game, one that they were thinking of developing at the time.

Treasure was founded back in 1992 by former Konami developers. While they’ve employed a few dozen employees over the years, a large majority tend to be independent contractors – with key staff usually only including a handful of people.


About

Owner and Publisher at Niche Gamer and Nicchiban. Outlaw fighting for a better game industry.


Where'd our comments go? Subscribe to become a member to get commenting access and true free speech!