Namco cross-media team ShiftyLook to close after three years, Namco High servers to shut in June

Namco Bandai has announced that its cross-media team ShiftyLook, which was set up to reinvigorate old franchises, will close after forming three years ago in 2011.

Recent revivals include WayForward's Wonder Momo sequel, and the resurging Bravoman franchise. The team also developed and released Namco High in Japan.

In a statement re-purposed by Polygon, a ShiftyLook spokesperson explained, "We originally got the ShiftyLook project going at NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. back in Fall 2011. The idea was to take the unused, 'sleeping' video game characters of our past and bring them back first with webcomics, and then - once they had gotten enough traction - expand into other media like web animation, games, and merchandise.

"I'm happy to say that we've done this with Wonder Momo, Bravoman, and some other very cool characters, which are now beloved not just in gamer circles, but at conventions, art groups, and many, many places we'd never expect. That said, now that we have successfully revived so many franchises, the heavy lifting is completed - and so is our work. We battled the video games abyss and won, which means it's time for us to move on and let the hit-makers play with some new toys."

The site adds that mobile title Bravoman will remain on sale via App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore until March 30, while its in-app purchases will go offline on March 16. Namco High's servers will cease on June 30. The release of Wonder Momo will not be affected by the move.

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