Omega Force
Japanese video game developer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Omega Force (Japanese: オメガフォース) (stylized as ω-Force) is a Japanese video game developer and a division of Koei Tecmo founded in 1996 by Akihiro Suzuki and Kenichi Ogasawara[2][3] that is best known for the Dynasty Warriors series of video games.
| |
Native name | オメガフォース |
|---|---|
| Company type | Division |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Akihiro Suzuki Kenichi Ogasawara |
| Headquarters | , Japan |
Key people | Tomohiko Sho (president)[1] |
| Products | Dynasty Warriors series Samurai Warriors series One Piece: Pirate Warriors series |
| Parent | Koei (1996–2010) Koei Tecmo (2010–present) |
History
Omega Force was founded in 1996 as the fourth Business Division of Koei to widen the appeal of Koei's portfolio outside of their strategy and simulation games such as Romance of Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga's Ambition. Kenichi Ogasawara originally joined Koei in hopes of being able to work on Nobunaga's Ambition, of which he was a fan, as a planner. Due to his lack of programming skills, he was assigned to a training course to become a programmer whilst porting games from NEC PC-9801 to the Super NES. Ogasawara, after being promoted to planner, was then tasked by Koei to create a 3D action game using the technological capabilities of the PlayStation. This resulted in the development of Dynasty Warriors and the establishment of Omega Force.[4]
The studio was originally going to be named after the letter Z, but this idea never came to fruition as the letter Z can have different meanings outside of Japanese culture. Wanting to keep the last letter of the alphabet, they settled for Omega from the Greek alphabet; however, due to copyright concerns with the clock manufacturing company Omega SA, Force was added – a Japanese homophone for "fourth" – representing that they are the fourth business division.[4]
WinBack, released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64, pioneered the cover-based third-person shooter and inspired games such as Kill Switch, Gears of War, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. It also featured an early rendition of a laser sight mechanic for weapon aiming, which would later be seen in games like Resident Evil 4. The cover system has since become a staple of the third-person shooter genre.[5][6] With WinBack, which was originally shown off at the 1999 Electronic Entertainment Expo and later at the 1999 Nintendo Space World trade show,[7] Omega Force was once again tasked by Koei to create a title it wasn't known for.[8]
In 2016, Kenichi Ogasawara mentioned during an interview with Famitsu that the next entry in their key franchise Dynasty Warriors, titled Dynasty Warriors 9, was in development. He hoped to have a greater impact with Dynasty Warriors 9, as he mentioned "the evolution from Dynasty Warriors 7 to 8 was insufficient".[9] Producers Masaki Furusawa and Akihiro Suzuki planned to overhaul the franchise's often criticized combat system.[10][11] In 2018, Omega Force released Dynasty Warriors 9, moving the franchise from its arena-based combat to an open-world.[10]
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the third collaboration project between Omega Force and Nintendo, released in 2020 and quickly became the best-selling Warriors game[12] as well as the developer's best-selling title, shipping over 4 million copies as of January 2022.[13]
In 2022, Omega Force announced a partnership with Electronic Arts, along with its parent company Koei Tecmo. Their new game, Wild Hearts, would be published under their EA Originals label.[14] The game was officially announced on September 23, 2022.[15] Wild Hearts' director, Kotaro Hirata, mentioned that Dynasty Warriors has become a pillar franchise for Omega Force, and that with Wild Hearts they wanted another strong pillar franchise for Omega Force, hoping to widen their audience and create more internationally appealing titles.[16] EA's Andrew Wilson mentioned in an investor meeting that the success of Monster Hunter led to EA greenlighting the title.[17]
Games
Warriors games
The Warriors series, known in Japan as the Musō (無双, lit. "Unrivaled") series, is an action game series created by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo. The meta-series contains various series, such as the Dynasty Warriors games, the One Piece: Pirate Warriors games, the Warriors Orochi games, the Samurai Warriors games, and various spin-offs.
Dynasty Warriors
Dynasty Warriors, known in Japan as Sangokumusou (三國無双, Sangokumusō; lit. "Three Kingdoms Unrivaled"), is the first and the largest Warriors subseries. In Japanese, all games after the original Dynasty Warriors carry the Shin · Sangokumusou (真・三國無双, Shin · Sangokumusō; lit. "True · Three Kingdom Unrivalled") title, but English localizations continue to use Dynasty Warriors, putting all international releases a number ahead of their Japanese counterparts.
Main series
| Year | Title | Genre | Platform(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Dynasty Warriors | Fighting game | PlayStation | Known as Sangokumusou (三國無双, Sangoku Musō) in Japan. |
| 2000 | Dynasty Warriors 2 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 | Known as Shin · Sangokumusou (真・三國無双) in Japan. |
| 2001 | Dynasty Warriors 3 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Steam | An expansion, Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends (known as Shin · Sangokumusou 2 Moushouden in Japan), was released in 2002.
A remastered version, Dynasty Warriors 3: Complete Edition Remastered (known as ''Shin · Sangokumusou 2 with Moushouden Remastered in Japan), is planned for a worldwide release on 19 March 2026. |
| 2003 | Dynasty Warriors 4 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows | Several expansions were released: Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends, Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires and Dynasty Warriors 4: Hyper |
| 2005 | Dynasty Warriors 5 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | Several expansions were released: Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends, Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires and Dynasty Warriors 5: Special |
| 2007 | Dynasty Warriors 6 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | Several expansions were released: Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires and Dynasty Warriors 6: Special |
| 2011 | Dynasty Warriors 7 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows[18] | Several expansions were released: Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends, Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires and Dynasty Warriors 7: Special |
| 2013 | Dynasty Warriors 8 | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows | Several expansions were released: Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends and Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires |
| 2018 | Dynasty Warriors 9 | Action, Hack and slash | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows | An expansion, Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires, was released. |
| 2025 | Dynasty Warriors: Origins | Action, Hack and slash | PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch 2 | A "major DLC" expansion, "" is set to be released on January 22, 2026.[19] A Nintendo Switch 2 version is also planned for release on the same date. |
Spin-offs
Samurai Warriors
Samurai Warriors, known as Sengokumusou (戦国無双, Sengoku Musō; lit. "Unrivaled Warring States") is the series based loosely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history.
Warriors Orochi and Warriors All-Stars
Warriors Orochi, known as Musou Orochi (無双OROCHI, Musō Orochi) in Japan, is a series developed by Koei and Omega Force. It is a crossover of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors.
