Grasshopper Manufacture's current games in development will not be affected by GungHo acquisition

GungHo Online Entertainment's recent acquisition of Lollipop Chainsaw and Killer Is Dead developer Grasshopper Manufacture will not affect any games that are already in development, the publisher announced today.

GungHo is the publisher of games like Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Odyssey and Dokuro. The company announced yesterday that it bought Grasshopper Manufacture, the studio behind the No More Heroes series, Shadows of the Damned, Lollipop Chainsaw and the recently announced Killer Is Dead. Today it confirmed that Grasshopper Manufacture will continue to operate under studio boss Goichi Suda and all titles already in development at the studio before the acquisition will not be affected by the deal.

President and CEO of GungHo Online Entertainment, Kazuki Morishita (pictured above, left) said the acquisition of Grasshopper is an investment for the publisher. "We believe the strength of a publisher lies in its creative talent, so with the addition of Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51 (Goichi Suda) we are adding some of the most innovative talent in today's gaming world to our stellar family of independently-operated studios," he said in a statement.

Goichi Suda (above, right) said of the acquisition: "By joining GungHo Online Entertainment, we are aligning ourselves with a strong, established publishing force that will support our vision to further create inspired new games that appeal to players across the world.

"The Grasshopper team and I have many new ideas to share with our fans as we move forward, so this union with GOE will help us realize our future plans."