Square Enix Montréal was one of three studios purchased by Embracer Group as part of a $300m USD deal with Square Enix earlier this year. Following the deal’s completion in August, Embracer now also owns Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal, alongside major IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain. While Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal will keep their existing identities following the Embracer acquisition, Square Enix Montréal has now shaken off the last remnants of its former owner with a new name and new logo, both of which have been detailed in a lengthy post on the developer’s website. The key takeway for the curious, though, is that “Onoma is Greek for name and names offer endless possibilities”. “At Onoma,” the developer adds, “we are creators, inventors, and storytellers, and the experiences and ideas that we bring to life connect us to each other and to players.” Studio Onoma’s website indicates it currently has three mobile projects in the works (the studio has been primarily mobile-focused since 2014’s Hitman Go, although several of its titles have made their way to PC and consoles), with Tomb Raider Reloaded, Avatar Generations, and a new Space Invaders game all listed as “coming soon”. As for Embracer Group’s other Square Enix acquisitions, Crystal Dynamics - which announced it had “taken control” of several game franchises including Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain in September - is currently developing a new Tomb Raider game in Unreal Engine 5. It’s unclear what Eidos-Montréal, now the owner of Deus Ex and Thief, is working on at present, although it said it had “several” projects in development earlier this year.
