Double Dragon and other Technos brands acquired by Arc System Works (update)

Arc System Works has acquired the rights to the Technos Japan portfolio, including brands like Double Dragon and River City Ransom, Arc System Works announced today.

The rights were previously held by Million, the licensing company that was formed after Technos Japan went bankrupt in 1996. Arc System Works' deal with Million covers all brands originally owned by Technos Japan — a list "including but not limited to the Double Dragon series, Super Dodge Ball series, River City Ransom and the Kunio-kun series," according to a press release from Arc System Works. The acquisition took effect June 1.

Arc System Works said in a special page on its website for the Technos deal that it plans to revive some of Technos' popular former series, and that licensed games "will continue on as before." One of the existing licensees is Conatus Creative, the Canadian indie studio that is working on River City Ransom: Underground, the Kickstarter-funded follow-up to Technos Japan's 1989 original.

Conatus Creative expects to release Underground this summer, according to a Kickstarter update from March 1. We've reached out to the studio to ask if Arc System Works' acquisition of the Technos IPs affects Underground, and will update this article with any information we receive.

Arc System Works itself is best known for its two main fighting game franchises, Guilty Gear and BlazBlue.

Update: Conatus Creative founder Daniel Crenna told Polygon that the company was not informed of the deal between Million and Arc System Works ahead of time.

"We have been focused entirely on a summer release [for River City Ransom: Underground]," said Crenna in a statement to Polygon. "Needless to say, we will be talking with Arc System Works and hope to have a positive outcome that allows us to publish the game for the people who backed it."