Bandai Namco Buys Unknown 9 Developer, Reflector

Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe has acquired Montreal studio Reflector Entertainment, which recently revealed its game Unknown 9: Awakening during Gamescom Opening Night Live 2020. According to a press release, this is part of Bandai Namco's strategy to "build Western development capabilities" as the publisher plans to develop "50% of its content outside of Japan." Reflector Entertainment was founded in 2016 and employs 120 AAA industry veterans. The studio's ambition is to build what it calls 'Storyworlds,' transmedia experiences that "people can interact with across a variety of media, including videogames, novels, podcasts, movies and more." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=unknown-9-awakening-screenshots-and-exclusive-concept-art&captions=true"] The studio's first Storyworld is Unknown 9, a "paranormal mystery" about a set of 9 immortal beings that "hold the keys to humanity's greatest mysteries." The story of Unknown 9 will unfold across a variety of platforms, with a novel trilogy, a scripted podcast and a comic book series available now. It's said that this acquisition will help Reflector "deepen its transmedia vision" for the Unknown 9 project. Unknown 9: Awakening is a 3rd-person, narrative-driven action-adventure game that will reside within this universe, and is headed to PC and next-gen consoles. If you want to check out some exclusive concept art and learn more details about the game, you can check out our interview with the developers here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.