Sega Completes Acquisition of Atlus

Sega acquired Atlus's bankrupt parent company in 2013 and then secured the developer's future the next year. Now, Sega has completed the acquisition of Atlus and will publish all of the developer's games in North America from this point forward.

Sega announced the news in a press release. Despite Sega publishing Atlus's games, both entities will continue to identify as individual brands for future video games. Sega says the change is "to simplify business accounts" and unify the publishing arms of each; it also claims that no video games or other products will be affected by this.

Sega adds that since integrating Atlus USA into its business, Sega's been able to localize games such as Yakuza 5 and Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F. Atlus CEO Naoto Hiraoka says working under Sega has been beneficial for both companies.

"After nearly a year working under the Sega Games division, both Sega of America and Atlus USA have thrived and released a combined total of 23 game products," said Hiraoka. "Between Atlus's ability to localize and release Japanese video game products efficiently and the strength of Sega of America's reputation as a leading publisher in the industry, the situation could not be more symbiotic for both companies."

Persona 5 is slated for a 2016 release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.

It was also announced in the press release that Ivo Gerscovich will now be the chief head brand officer of Sonic and senior vice president of Sega of America. Gerscovich will oversee and give direction on the future of Sonic the Hedgehog in future games, TV shows, retail products, and a feature-length movie.

Another executive move finds vice president of product development Takashi Iizuka moving from Sega HQ in Japan to the Sonic business unit in Los Angeles, where Gerscovich is stationed. Iizuka has history with developing the Sonic franchise and will help streamline production on all things blue and fast.

2016 marks the 25th anniversary for Sonic the Hedgehog, and it was recently announced that there's going to be a fan event held in July to celebrate.