Overview
Aquaplus (アクアプラス) is a Japanese video game developer that was founded on October 3, 1994 initially as an outsourcing studio named "U-Office." The company eventually began making their own original PC games and later became famous for their eroge titles released under their Leaf brand name. However, today most of the company's modern games are mainstream releases published under the Aquaplus name.
The company was initially established by Naoya Shimokawa along with Shinji Orito and a few other composers. Ryuji Shimokawa, Naoya's father, served as the studio's CEO for many year before Naoya Shimokawa himself eventually took over as president. In 2013, Aquaplus became a wholly owned subsidiary of Yume no Sora Holdings and, in February 2022, Naoya Shimokawa stepped down from being the CEO to being the company's COO. In December 2022, Aqauplus was acquired again by an entertainment production company called CREST where it became a subsidiary. CREST then merged with two other companies, QBIST and SANETTY Produce, and are now known as HIKE. The studio's current representative director is Masataka Mikami of HIKE.
Other Ventures
Along with game development, Aquaplus is also involved in the music industry with the company establishing F.I.X. RECORDS in 1999 and a music recording studio called Studio Aqua. They have also operated an online wine retailer called Wine Fix, run an automotive company called AQUA, and even managed restaurant chains in the Hyogo and Osaka prefectures. Additionally, Aquaplus also dabbled in hardware development with their release of a portable gaming device called "P/ECE" (PIECE) in 2001.
External Links
- Official Site
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