BlazBlue series creator and ex-producer Toshimichi Mori has announced a new company, Studio Flare, with ex-Marvelous boss Toshinori Aoki.
The new Tokyo-based developer was launched with seed funding from NetEase Games, with Aoki serving as president and CEO and Mori serving as producer and executive vice president.
Their first game hasn’t been detailed yet but they are hiring for a number of positions ranging from network engineers to both 2D and 3D artists.
Here’s the press announcement for the new studio:
We are pleased to announce the establishment of a new game studio, STUDIO FLARE, Inc. on February 28, 2023.
The studio will be located in an office building near Gotanda Station in the heart of Tokyo, and is currently preparing a development office by this spring.
Toshinori Aoki has been appointed President and Representative Director. Aoki began his career at SEGA Enterprises (now SEGA) in 1993, became a director of Marvelous Entertainment (now Marvelous) in 2001, and in 2012 became its executive vice president, president and representative director in 2017, and chairman of its overseas subsidiaries in 2019. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Marvelous Entertainment (now Marvelous, Inc.) since 2001 and as Executive Vice President of Marvelous Entertainment in 2012.
Toshimichi Mori will also assume the role of Vice President, concurrently serving as Producer. Mori has also directed the Guilty Gear series at Arc System Works, Inc. and served as a producer of the original BlazBlue series, and was a director at Arc System Works.
All forms of entertainment make port calls on the wisdom of games. The game industry has progressed at an unparalleled pace in step with the development of the information and communications industry.
The development environment has continued to evolve with the times, and titles are now released daily from around the world. The gaming industry has the potential to be a leader in the interactive aspects of all forms of entertainment.
The excitement that comes from the experience. What the game industry has cultivated with its users will become more and more important in all entertainment and business scenes.
Studio Flare hopes to be a company that can share with users and the next generation the extreme position that we have reached by experiencing the changes of the times.Toward a New Departure
With Mori at the core of our development team, we are an independent studio that will leverage our past experience to explore the next generation of entertainment.
We are preparing an environment to create games that stand out for their individuality, with an awareness of the global market from Asia. We create contents to be handed down to the next generation with the motto of challenging to maximize the potential of contents and aiming for even higher levels.
Development in a company is not possible in a short period of time. We are still in the process of preparation, but there is a lot of fun in creating something new from scratch. Studio FLARE is looking for core members and fellow creators who are willing to take on new challenges.
We want to enjoy game development as we did in the past. We want to be the kind of company that presents the appeal and excitement of games to the younger generation.
