About the studio
Bandai Namco Entertainment began in 2006 as Namco Bandai Games Inc., following the 2005 merger of Namco and Bandai, and went through two more renames, Bandai Namco Games in 2014 and its current name in 2015. Based in Minato, Tokyo, it's primarily a video game publisher, home to Tales of, The Idolmaster, and Pac-Man, but it regularly overlaps with anime through game-anime crossover franchises and licensing. *A games publisher that ends up in anime credits constantly, simply because so many of its franchises live in both mediums at once.* Its development operations were spun off separately in 2012 into what's now Bandai Namco Studios, keeping publishing and development distinct within the larger group. Two decades removed from the original Namco-Bandai merger, this company sits at one of the busiest intersections in modern Japanese entertainment, where video games, anime, and merchandise all feed directly into each other.