Despite being acquired by Square Enix last week, Eidos will continue to operate as an independent entity and does not currently plan to kill off any of its existing franchises.
“Key staff and studios” at Eidos will remain in place, according to a GamesIndustry report, including Phil Rogers who will continue as company CEO. Rogers took over Eidos in January 2008 following the departure of former CEO Jane Cavanagh, who left after earlier takeover talks ended unsuccessfully in 2007. Rogers said he was pleased with the progress Eidos has made on his watch but emphasized that the company still has a long way to go.
“We were clear early on that it was a multi-year program that we were on, and we talk internally about the first year of three, to give you some sense of rhythm or cadence,” he said. “We’re pleased that we’ve set out with a clear direction – Eidos has had different directions in the past, but when you bore back to the common direction it’s about the absolute gameplay, games with character.”
“In terms of how we see the [Square Enix] fit, the test for any announcement or transaction like this is how people feel internally,” he continued. “I think people here think that it feels very right, that it strategically fits well, and there’s a great deal of excitement now around the business. As a leader of a business, I think that’s a great litmus test.”
Square Enix President and CEO Yoichi Wada echoed Rogers’ comments, saying he felt Eidos made a good fit because the two companies shared “the same culture.” “When I say ‘sharing the culture,’ that includes the personality of the top management of the company, and the atmosphere in the studios,” he said. “Because even if you were to have just had a capital tie-up, after the acquisition that will simply become a pure business contract-type of relationship. But with Eidos I felt that the fit was very good.”
