Overview
From Square refugees to Nintendo pillars. Tetsuya Takahashi and Hirohide Sugiura founded Monolith Soft after Xenogears, determined to continue ambitious JRPG development. Namco funded Xenosaga; financial realities led to Nintendo acquisition in 2007. The partnership proved fruitful—Xenoblade Chronicles delivered the scale Takahashi always envisioned, while Monolith’s technical expertise supported Zelda’s open-world transformation.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1999.
- Founders: Tetsuya Takahashi, Hirohide Sugiura.
- Acquired by: Nintendo (2007).
- Locations: Tokyo, Kyoto.
Namco era
| Title | Year | Status |
|---|
| Xenosaga Episode I | 2002 | Released |
| Xenosaga Episode II | 2004 | Released |
| Xenosaga Episode III | 2006 | Released |
| Baten Kaitos | 2003 | Released |
Nintendo era
| Title | Year | Platform |
|---|
| Disaster: Day of Crisis | 2008 | Wii |
| Xenoblade Chronicles | 2010 | Wii |
| Xenoblade Chronicles X | 2015 | Wii U |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | 2017 | Switch |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | 2022 | Switch |
Support work
| Project | Contribution |
|---|
| Zelda: Breath of the Wild | World design |
| Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Technical support |
| Splatoon | Development assistance |
| Animal Crossing | Support |
Studio expansion
| Growth | Scale |
|---|
| 1999 | ~40 employees |
| 2010 | ~100 employees |
| 2020 | ~300+ employees |
| Kyoto office | Additional capacity |
See also