Japanese publisher and game developer Visual Arts, renowned for its celebrated visual novel series including Clannad, Air, and Canon, was fully acquired by Chinese entertainment and gaming conglomerate Tencent in July 2023. Nearly three years post-acquisition, Visual Arts CEO and president Genki Tenkumo—also the producer behind Key titles Summer Pockets and anemoi, under the alias Touya Okano—spoke about the developments in a recent interview with GameWatch.
Tenkumo assumed the position of Visual Arts’s CEO coinciding with Tencent’s takeover, being handpicked by the retiring president Takahiro Baba. He confirms that Visual Arts has retained complete autonomy in its game production, with Tencent refraining from meddling in the studio’s creative processes. The sole modifications introduced were the adoption of accounting and management systems aligned with global standards. Moreover, Tenkumo notes that the company’s management has become more stable. He believes that the original goal of former president Baba—who spearheaded the Tencent deal—has been entirely realized.
Regarding this objective – Visual Arts was a privately held company with Baba owning 100% of its shares. The former president worried that the studio might vanish if anything happened to him, as detailed in a blog post from 2023. Having turned 63 that year, despite being in good health, he felt it was imperative to safeguard Visual Arts’s future as well as the rights to all its games and music. Since the company wasn’t in a position to pursue an IPO at the time, Baba opted to sell it to a suitable buyer. The decision to transfer shares to Tencent followed an extensive selection process and the agreement of Visual Arts staff.
Although Baba had stressed that “Visual Arts would remain Visual Arts” regardless of the circumstances, it’s comforting to hear Tenkumo’s recent affirmations reinforcing this stance. On a related note, Visual Arts is preparing to launch anemoi, its first full-priced visual novel in over seven years, on April 24. While this release is exclusive to Japan, the title is also slated for an international Steam release in the coming months. Furthermore, the company recently announced the launch of a brand new development label Visual Arts Scripts, with three new titles already unveiled, indicating a bright future for the developer.
Mido