Koei Tecmo has announced restructuring at Team Ninja, with one division of the studio being transferred to Atelier developer Gust.
In a statement (translated via Automaton) Koei Tecmo announces that Team Ninja Division 1 is being transferred to Gust – the studio known for its Atelier franchise – as the studio's Division 2. Meanwhile, the remainder of Team Ninja Division 2 will be split into a new Division 1 and Division 2 for the studio.
Team Ninja Division 1 was led by Yasunori Sakuda – who will continue to head the team now that it's Gust Division 2 – and was responsible for titles like the Asia-only dating sim Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme and co-developing Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Liberator of Polar Night with Gust. Meanwhile, Team Ninja Division 2 was led by Nioh producer Kohei Shibata (responsible for the titles most associate the studio with, like Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, and Nioh) – who will now lead the new Team Ninja Division 1 .
Given that Team Ninja announced a brand new Dead or Alive game is on the way at PlayStation State of Play earlier this month, if I were to speculate, I'd assume that Team Ninja's new divisions will be split between the development of action games and fighting games. However, Team Ninja already released a ton of games as is, with Rise of the Ronin, Ninja Gaiden 4, and Nioh 3 launching within a two-year span, so it may be business as usual for the studio going forward.
