CyberConnect2 Co., Ltd. is a video game development studio mostly known for its work on the .hack series, along with a series of fighting games based on the Naruto franchise. They are also known for creating the Little Tail Bronx series. In 2016, they expanded their workforce into the international market by opening a studio in Montreal, Canada.
History
CyberConnect2 was first formed on February 16, 1996 as "CyberConnect," based in Fukuoka, Japan, but on September 16, 2001, it was renamed "CyberConnect2". On October 3, 2007, CyberConnect2 changed their logo and decided to expand their production beyond games, beginning with the formation of "Sensible Art Innovation" to create the .hack//G.U. Trilogy, and LieN to compose the music. CyberConnect2 opened a studio in Tokyo, Japan in 2010, and later opened their first international studio in Montreal, Canada in 2016. The Fukuoka location remains the parent company. CyberConnect2 was tasked with developing the Final Fantasy VII Remake, described in CyberConnect2's March 2015Famitsu job advertisement as a photo-realistic role-playing game targeted at the international market being built using Unreal Engine 4 involving physically based rendering. In May 2017, it was announced that they had left the project due to unreasonable management from above, and Square Enix moved the remaining development of Final Fantasy VII Remake in-house. Following the release of the game in 2020, over half of the VII Remake's content was discovered to have been and credited as content developed by Cyberconnect2.
Current projects
CyberConnect2 is currently working on two projects for current generation consoles. The first is open world. The second involves virtual reality. It was also stated during a live broadcast on NicoNico that CyberConnect2 will announce their "future vision" for the company, leading them through the next decade. This announcement will first appear in the February 1st issue of Famitsu Magazine.
CyberConnect2 also produced two computer animated films for the .hack franchise. The first one, .hack//G.U. Trilogy, is an adaptation of the .hack//G.U. games and was released in December 2007. The second film is .hack//The Movie, which was released on January 21, 2012.
