Sega will publish all future Atlus games, finalizes acquisition

Sega has completed its acquisition of game publisher and developer Atlus, the company announced in a release. That means all future Atlus titles released in North America will be published by Sega of America, but that doesn't mean the Atlus brand is going away.

Atlus USA and Sega of America will "still act autonomously," the company said, "and no games or products will be adversely affected by the publisher unification." It sounds like Sega fans have been the beneficiary of the two companies coming together; Sega notes that Atlus' "expertise" has helped in the localization of Japanese series like Yakuza and Project Diva.

"After nearly a year working under the Sega Games division, both SEGA of America and Atlus U.S.A. have thrived and released a combined total of 23 game products," said Naoto Hiraoka, CEO, Atlus U.S.A., in a release. "Between Atlus' ability to localize and release Japanese video game products efficiently and the strength of Sega of America's reputation as a leading publisher in the industry, the situation could not be more symbiotic for both companies."

"Being able to localize the smaller Sega titles from Japan quicker is a tangible benefit," PR manager John Hardin said on Twitter. He reinforced that the Atlus logo and brand aren't going away, but that the change is "almost entirely back-end stuff."