The company's founders held a symbolic 4% stake despite Nintendo's acquisition in 2007.
Kodoani.com – Monolith Soft has now officially become a 100% owned subsidiary of Nintendoaccording to updated information on this developer's website. Previously, Nintendo owned 96% shareswhile 4% remaining belongs to the company's co-founders including Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashiand Yasuyuki Honne.
Although it is unclear exactly when Nintendo acquired the last 4% of shares, Monolith Soft's internal documents from February still record the ownership of shares by the three co-founders.
History of formation and development
1999: Monolith Soft was founded by Hirohide Sugiura, Tetsuya Takahashi, and Yasuyuki Honne, former members of Squaresoft. The company started as part of the Namco with investment from this company.
2007: Nintendo acquired 80% shares by Monolith Soft from Namco Bandai Holdings (now Bandai Namco Holdings). At this time, Namco Bandai still holds 16% sharesand 4% The remaining belongs to the founders of Monolith Soft.
2011: Namco Bandai sells 16% shares finally for Nintendo, increasing Nintendo's ownership level 96%.
Outstanding games
Monolith Soft is known for developing RPG games with depth in context, plot and gameplay system. Some of the company's outstanding games include:
Xenogears series: Directed by Tetsuya Takahashi while working at Squaresoft.
Xenosaga series: Based on the world and ideas from Xenogears.
Loạt Xenoblade Chronicles: Especially successful with games on Nintendo Switch, such as: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (2022) Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (2020) Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (2017)
The Legend of Zelda: Monolith Soft plays an important role in developing games such as: Breath of the Wild (2017) Tears of the Kingdom (2023)
Splatoon: Support the development of a popular cartoon-style shooting game series.
Latest project
Monolith Soft is focusing on development Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Editionan upgraded Nintendo Switch version of the game Xenoblade Chronicles X was released on Wii U. This game is expected to be released on March 20, 2024.
