Koei and Tecmo form powerhouse

Koei and Tecmo will be re-branded Tecmo-Koei ahead of the publisher’s aggressive expansion into Western territories, MCV understands.

The news follows big-money European acquisitions by rival Square-Enix, which purchased Eidos last month, and Namco-Bandai, which is set to finalise a deal for Atari’s European distribution business.

Tecmo-Koei will focus on expanding its worldwide offices and developing Westernised new IP at its studio in Canada.

As the market is expanding in the West, it is shrinking in Japan,” Koei CEO Kenji Matsubara, told MCV.

The Western market is six times larger than that of the Japanese one, and it is going to grow even further.

Accordingly, our expansion into the Western market is the most important part of our mid-term plan.”

Tecmo, which is most famous for its Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden franchises, turned down a take-over bid from Square-Enix ahead of its merger with Koei last year.

When contacted Koei UK issued a ‘no comment’ on the name change.