French publisher Microids will revive two of Taito’s renowned franchises

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-09-17 10:52 (JST)
Translated by. Ryuki Ishii

French publisher Microids announced on September 16 that the company has reached an agreement with Taito to produce two new games based on Taito’s famous franchises. Both games are already in production and are expected to launch in 2022.

Microids is a well-established publisher based in France. The company is best known for its Syberia series, and has also published a number of other games, including Gear.Club Unlimited and Blacksad: Under the Skin. Their newest title Agatha Christie – Hercule Poirot: The First Cases is set to launch at the end of September. Microids has also worked on several remakes and remasters of IPs such as XIII, Toki, and Asterix & Obelix.

With the newly announced agreement with Taito, Microids will produce two new titles using Taito’s IP. The company has not announced exactly which titles they are working on, but they did mention that these games will be developed by “experienced studios.” Stéphane Longeard, CEO of Microids, stated that they “cannot wait to unveil the two projects we’re working on and we strongly believe they will surprise a lot of people!”

Katsuhiko Iwaki, President and Representative Director of Taito, also made a comment saying “We have full confidence in Microids capability to revive two of our licenses through the titles they will offer in the coming months. Gamers will be amazed to experience these games come back on today’s consoles.”

Taito has been making arcade games such as Space Invaders since the 1970s. The company has released numerous titles including Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble, and Darius. More recently, they are also known for series like Groove Coaster and Densha de Go! But judging by Iwaki’s comment, Microids’ new games will likely be using Taito’s older IPs.

Microids sees this as an opportunity to grow in international territories, “especially in Japan.” I’d say it’s safe to assume that the games will come out in Japan as well. We will have to wait for the official reveal to find out which Taito IPs will be used by their games.