Valhalla Game Studios

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title: "Valhalla Game Studios" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tencent-games", "japanese-companies-established-in-2008", "2021-disestablishments-in-japan", "canadian-companies-established-in-2014", "video-game-companies-established-in-2008", "video-game-companies-established-in-2014", "video-game-companies-disestablished-in-2021", "defunct-video-game-companies-of-canada", "defunct-video-game-companies-of-japan", "video-game-development-companies"] description: "Japanese-Canadian video game developer" topic_path: "geography/japan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valhalla_Game_Studios" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Japanese-Canadian video game developer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
native_name_lang	ja
image	Valhalla Game Studios logo.png
former_name	Valhalla Game Studios Co., Ltd. (2008–2014)
type	Subsidiary
key_people	Satoshi Kanematsu
(CEO)
industry	Video games
subsid	Valhalla Game Studios, Ltd. (VGS Japan)
Valhalla Seven Ltd.
Valhalla Networks Ltd.
EIN Entertainment Ltd.
Soleil Ltd.
parent	Wake Up Interactive
name	Valhalla Game Studios International
foundation	2008
(as Valhalla Game Studios)
November 26, 2014
(as Valhalla Game Studios International)
fate	Merged into Soleil, Ltd.
defunct	December 2021
location	Vancouver, Canada
Tokyo, Japan
(VGS Japan)
homepage	Valhalla Game Studios International
VGS Japan
::

| native_name = | native_name_lang = ja | image = Valhalla Game Studios logo.png | former_name = Valhalla Game Studios Co., Ltd. (2008–2014) | type = Subsidiary | key_people = Satoshi Kanematsu (CEO) | industry = Video games | subsid = Valhalla Game Studios, Ltd. (VGS Japan) Valhalla Seven Ltd. Valhalla Networks Ltd. EIN Entertainment Ltd. Soleil Ltd. | parent = Wake Up Interactive | name = Valhalla Game Studios International | foundation = 2008 (as Valhalla Game Studios) November 26, 2014 (as Valhalla Game Studios International) | fate = Merged into Soleil, Ltd. | defunct = December 2021 | location = Vancouver, Canada Tokyo, Japan (VGS Japan) | homepage = Valhalla Game Studios International VGS Japan

was a video game development, entertainment and holding company.

It was founded in 2008 as in Tokyo, Japan. An international division was later founded in British Columbia, Canada, which acquired all intellectual property and shares of the original Valhalla Game Studios and other affiliates, effectively making them subsidiaries of the Canadian company. To differentiate, the original Valhalla Game Studios is alternatively referred to as VGS Japan. VGS Japan is best known for Devil's Third, their flagship title which went through a long development cycle.

Valhalla's parent company, Wake Up Interactive, was acquired by Tencent for $44 million in November 2021. The following month, Wake Up merged the staff and operations of Valhalla Game Studios into another subsidiary, Soleil Ltd., effectively closing down Valhalla.

Staff

The studio is run by former Tecmo staff: Satoshi Kanematsu, who worked on Monster Rancher and Rygar, and Tomonobu Itagaki, a game designer known for his work on the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden series.

List of games developed by VGS Japan

::data[format=table]

Title	Publisher	Platform	Release	Additional details
Devil's Third	Nintendo	Wii U	2015	Former Development co-operation for Nintendo SPD
Devil's Third Online	Nexon	PC	title=PC格闘シューター『Devil's Third Online』	publisher=NEXON
Momotaro Dentetsu 2017: Tachiagare Nippon!!	Nintendo	Nintendo 3DS	2016
::

Projects

Since 2009, the company had been working on Devil's Third, a "hyper-violent shooter". Originally developed as a title for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the game was eventually developed exclusively for the Wii U. Following the closure of development partner THQ, intellectual property rights to Devil's Third were given back to Valhalla Game Studios. The game was re-announced by Nintendo at E3 2014; the title released in 2015. It received "generally unfavorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. In November 2015, it was announced that Valhalla and Nexon would be releasing Devil's Third Online, a PC port of *Devil's Third'''s multiplayer mode, as part of a partnership. The title would go into open beta in December in Japan and would release in the same region in late January. It was confirmed that features that were absent in the original, such as voice chat, would be added to *Devil's Third Online''. After a delay, the title released in Japan on June 8, 2016.

Litigation

In November 2015, it was reported that Valhalla Motion Pictures was suing Valhalla Game Studios for trademark infringement, likely due to their similar name and logo.{{cite web |title=Valhalla Game Studios is Being Sued Over a Trademark Dispute|url=http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/11/valhalla_game_studios_is_being_sued_over_a_trademark_dispute|publisher=Nintendo Life| first=Mitch|last=Vogel|date=November 10, 2015|publication-date=November 9, 2015|access-date=March 29, 2018}}

On March 24, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office denied Valhalla Game Studios' trademark registration on the grounds that there was likelihood of confusion between Valhalla Motion Pictures and Valhalla Games Studios' mark.

Notes

References

References

1. (November 11, 2021). "Report: Tencent acquires Japanese studio Wake Up for $44 million". [[Game Developer (website).
2. Romano, Sal. (December 23, 2021). "Soleil absorbs Valhalla Game Studios". Gematsu.
3. "PC格闘シューター『Devil's Third Online』". NEXON.
4. "桃太郎電鉄2017 たちあがれ日本!!". Nintendo Co., Ltd..
5. "History". Valhalla Game Studios International Ltd..
6. (November 6, 2010). "Ninja Gaiden Creators Reveal Devil's Third, The Bloody New Shooter From Valhalla". [[Kotaku]].
7. (July 4, 2012). "Devil's Third rights returned to Itagaki and Valhalla Game Studios". [[Eurogamer]].
8. "Devil's Third". Metacritic.
9. "Devil's Third Online Officially Announced For PC". Siliconera.
10. "Devil's Third Online Launches In Japan In January, Adds Voice Chat, PvE, And More". Siliconera.
11. "United States Patent and Trademark Office Opposition No. 91206662".

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