Japanese gaming giant Square Enix has applied to the Canadian Trademarks Database to launch a new North American studio, dubbed Studio Onoma.

This comes in the wake of Square Enix’s sale of several studios to Embracer Group in May: Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montreal. This move led with significant criticism from fans, as it meant giving up the reins on popular franchises such as Life is Strange and Tomb Raider.

The firm reported notable declines in its latest financial report, and rumours have been circling that an acquisition by another company is possible, with PlayStation creator Sony often noted as a likely buyer due to the longstanding relationship between the two companies,which includes exclusivity deals on several recent and upcoming AAA titles such as Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XVI.

Is Studio Onoma mobile focused?

The application to found Studio Onoma was made through the company’s UK branch. According to the application file the new studio will also be used to create and publish merchandise such as clothing, toys, action figures, game guides, and posters. It’s also possible that the studio will serve as the headquarters for the company’s western operations.

Square Enix is one of the biggest names in the RPG genre, best known for the Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest franchises. The company has been making increasing moves into the mobile space over the past several years with titles such as Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier, Dragon Quest Walk, and the upcoming titles Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis and Avatar: Generations.

However, the company is primarily focused on the AAA market. As such, it’s possible that Studio Onoma may take responsibility for much of the company’s slate of mobile titles.

Although Square Enix didn’t make our list of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022, the studio was included in our list last year.