Sega has announced, via a press release, that they will split their subsidiary, Index, into Atlus and Index on April 1 as well as renaming their overseas subsidiary, Index Digital Media, Inc., into Atlus U.S.A, Inc.
In order to “maximize the creation of synergies within Sega Sammy, as well as within each industry of the Sega Group”, Sega has decided to divide Index Corporation into these two distinct subsidiaries. Essentially:
Atlus: Renamed from Index Corporation, Atlus will be responsible for the business of “game planning and development , and related industries.” They are composed of 121 employees.
Index Corporation: A newly organized division, Index will be responsible for the “content and solutions business” (content distribution, systems development, internet advertisements, etc.) and related industries. They are composed of 166 employees.
UPDATE: Hashino has written a statement about this news on p-ch, which was translated by Pepsiman on NeoGAF:
Hey all.
It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally able to stage our comeback as a company at last. (Sobs.)
It goes without saying, but I know we’ve made you, the fans, worry a lot these past several years. We lost that which we thought we could once take for granted when Atlus ceased to be a proper company. Atlus continued to live on as a brand, but we had to do a lot of soul searching during those years, especially with respect to what made our games enjoyable on their own terms and and what it means to us personally to bring those games to life.
I might be a bit overdramatic when I say this, but I think much like people, the games that leave a lasting impression upon us are the ones that that charm us and challenge us alike, ones that require more than mere passiveness on our part to enjoy and set out to change the status quo with good intentions. While it’s important for players to enjoy themselves when playing video games, I want ours to linger on in their memories for other reasons beyond that. Those are the things I’ve kept at the forefront of my mind as I keep pursuing this life as a creator that I’ve gone down.
And that’s not going to change moving forward.
We want to keep making the games that’ll make you all happy as fans and while we’re working hard to bring them to you, I hope you’ll continue to voice your passionate support for us as you always have.
– Katsura Hashino