Goichi 'Suda51' Suda's studio Grasshopper Manufacture, maker of No More Heroes and Lollipop Chainsaw, has been snapped up by Japanese publisher GungHo Online Entertainment. Suda51 says that joining forces "will support our vision to further create inspired new games that appeal players across the world" while GungHo hints that its own online expertise may help Grasshopper.

Grasshopper will continue work on its current projects, the only one of which we know is Killer Is Dead, as before the acquisition. What exactly GungHo has in mind for Grasshopper is under wraps for now but it's unlikely to interfere too much because, well, why buy Grasshopper if you don't want it to do its own wacky thing?

"We believe the strength of a publisher lies in its creative talent so with the addition of Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda1 we are adding some of the most innovative talent in today's gaming world to our stellar family of independently-operated studios," GungHo CEO Kazuki Morishita said in today's announcement. "Suda51 projects are known to put a unique spin on every game so coupled with our proven ability to support development with AAA resources including a tailored online experience, we believe gamers will benefit from this collaboration."

Grasshopper has tended to skip online multiplayer, so perhaps change is afoot.

GungHo also owns Way of the Samurai developer Acquire, Ragnarok Odyssey maker and Grandia creator Game Arts, and Ragnarok Online dev Gravity.