tri-Ace, developer of classic RPGs like Star Ocean , has recently been acquired by Japanese company Nepro Japan. The company mostly focuses on mobile phones and mobile game development, which means we likely won’t be seeing another Star Ocean by tri-Ace in the near future – at least not one on a console.
This is part of Nepro’s move to strengthen their mobile game’s business by bringing on powerful game developers. Nepro is looking to have a mobile game development team that rivals console and PC developers. They consider the acquisition of tri-Ace a “low risk high reward” move that can only aid both companies.
And what of Star Ocean ? The IP is still owned by Square-Enix, which has both said that it is looking to focus on traditional games and that it is going to push its efforts toward the mobile sector. No one really knows where the next Star Ocean will end up, or if we will even see one.
Source: Siliconera