Silicon Studio announced that they have formed a new game development studio called Creek and River. This is more than just a rebranding for Silicon Studio, however. 90% of Silicon Studio’s stocks will be transferred to Creek and River which is being treated as a subsidiary more so than a brand new company.
The reason for doing this is the realization that development costs are on the rise for games due to high competition, especially in the mobile/smartphone game industry. As mobile technology improves, expectations of higher production, better graphics, better performance and a near console-like experience also rise with that change in that technology. This means that game studios are spending more and more money developing better-looking and better-performing mobile games.
The studio formed in 2008 with the expectations of producing quality games on a low budget. Two of their biggest successes was Bravely Default and Bravely Second for the Nintendo 3DS. Both games were developed by Silicon Studio and published by Square-Enix. The games carried with them a feeling of nostalgia for the days where turn-based RPGs ruled the market. Silicon Studio also developed and is managing Terra Battle 2, a game for smartphone devices.
The hopes with this move is to create a harmonious partnership with Creek and River in which Creek and River will handle the development of video games while Silicon Studio will continue working on creating graphics engines and middleware for games.
