Red severs ties with SEGA

Japanese studio Red Entertainment has undertaken a management buyout, reclaiming its independent status and severing most of its ties to Sega in the process.

The studio, famous for its Sakura Taisen series in the East and titles including Blood Will Tell and Gungrave Overdose in the West, reacquired 2700 shares of its stock from Sega on November 30th, accounting for 59.2 per cent of the 4588 shares outstanding for the company.

Sakura Taisen producer Hiroi Ouji has hinted earlier that Red Entertainment would be looking to regain its independent status as the company prepares for the next generation of consoles, deciding to opt for developing software on Microsoft's Xbox 360 instead of Sony's PS3.

Ouji maintains that development costs for the Xbox 360 will be far lower than those for the PS3, and as Red Entertainment's titles have only appeared on Sega consoles and the PS2, independence from Sega was a mandatory move as the studio looks ahead.

In addition to developing for Microsoft's new machine, Red Entertainment intends to make a determined move into the online games market as well as producing mobile gaming titles. Its merchandising arm will continue to function as normal, and the company has stated that it will maintain strong links with Sega.