Idea Factory opens US studio

Japanese publisher Idea Factory has landed on US soil, launching a new studio in California.

The company is probably best recognised for its dating sim Hakuoki, Record of Agarest War, and Hyperdimension Neptunia, and has formed the new branch in the hopes of raising awareness of its games with Western audiences and strengthening its worldwide brand.

Idea Factory International will be lead by CEO Harusato Akenaga and will help its parent company release more games internationally, with a special focus on North America and Europe.

In the past, Idea Factory has worked through third-party companies to release games in the West, meaning the new studio is simply eliminating the middle-man.

This comes just a day after the company was awarded a contract to develop an RPG with Disgaea 4 director Masahiro Yamamoto, to be published by Idea Factory subsidiary Compile Heart in 2014.

The new studio’s website has soft-launched, so it’s short of content at the moment, but Idea Factory promises to provide more details soon.