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CyberAgent to Acquire Creative Company Nitroplus for 16.7 Billion Yen

CyberAgent announced on Wednesday that it has decided to acquire the creative company Nitroplus for 16.704 billion yen (about US$104 million). As of July 1, CyberAgent will hold a 72.5% controlling stake in Nitroplus, which will become part of the CyberAgent group of companies as a subsidiary. Nitroplus founder and CEO Takaki Kosaka, also known as Digitarou, said in his announcements that he, vice president Gen Urobuchi, and all Nitroplus staff will remain part of the company for the foreseeable future.

Nitroplus was founded in 1999, but formally registered as a company and debuted in 2000 with the Phantom of Inferno visual novel (which later inspired the Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ anime). The work is Gen Urobuchi's first visual novel for the company, and he would become the company's most notable and prolific writer. The company is known for its stories exploring dark themes and high concept and detailed settings. It has produced many iconic visual novels, including Saya no Uta, Full Metal Daemon: Muramasa, Demonbane, Jingai Makyō, You and Me and Her, and Tokyo Necro. The company collaborated with 5pb. to work on the Chaos;HEAd and Steins;Gate visual novels. It has also created online games such as Touken Ranbu and Smile of the Arsnotoria. In addition, it has a boys love visual novel brand named Nitro+CHiRAL, which has produced such works as togainu no chi, DRAMAtical Murder, and Slow Damage.

Nitroplus and its writers have also worked on or collaborated on a number of original manga, anime, and light novel properties, including Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Aldnoah.Zero, School-Live!, Psycho Pass, Expelled from Paradise, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Revenger, RWBY: Ice Queendom, and Thunderbolt Fantasy, among many others.

CyberAgent established Cygames in 2011, and the company has produced games such as Rage of Bahamut and Granblue Fantasy. Cygames established an anime division in March 2015 and the anime production subsidiary Cygames Pictures in April 2016. The company has worked on anime productions inspired by its games including Rage of Bahamut Genesis, Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul, and Granblue Fantasy the Animation.

CyberAgent and Cygames established the CA-Cygames Anime Fund in June 2017. The fund has allowed both companies to invest in anime production committees, acquire streaming rights, and acquire game adaptation rights. Some of the anime in which the fund has invested include Hinomaru Zumō, Zombie Land Saga, and As Miss Beelzebub Likes.

Kadokawa Corporation formed a capital alliance with CyberAgent, Inc. and Sony in February 2021 with the goals to strengthen the Global Media Mix Strategy to expand Kadokawa's IPs worldwide, and to cooperate with CyberAgent and Sony for "mutual exploitation of each other's business, expertise, and other strengths."

CyberAgent acquired stage production company Nelke Planning in June 2023.

Sources: Gamebiz via Otakomu, Nitroplus, CyberAgent

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.