Namco Bandai dissolving Namco Tales Studio subsidiary

Though it was only a month ago that Namco Bandai promised "a lot more support" for games in the Tales franchise, it announced today that it will be dissolving and absorbing its Tales Studio subsidiary. The studio recently released Tales of Xillia to critical and commercial success in Japan, making the move a bit confusing.

According to a report by Andriasang, Namco Bandai didn't provide any reasoning behind the move, which is expected to be approved by its board on November 29. Namco Tales Studio, which was formed in March of 2003, will subsequently dissolve on January 1, 2012.

Though no specific mention of the fate of the number of the Tales games that are currently in production was mentioned in the announcement, it's reasonable to assume that titles already in development--like Tales of Graces F and Tales of the Abyss--will continue development internally at Namco Bandai. Given the series' popularity in Japan, it's unlikely the series' end is nigh.