Monolith Soft
"Xenoblade Chronicles" released in 2010 in Japan, and after multiple delays, also released worldwide to unexpected critical and commercial success. Also released that year was ', a sequel to the original game co-developed with Banpresto that expanded upon the mechanics of the original and featured further "Xenosaga" cameos. In 2011, Monolith Soft founded a new studio in Kyoto, closer to Nintendo's home base so the two companies could better interact with each other. Despite some initial reservations, the staff quickly settled into their new offices and the studio became a lauded place of work. Rather than original projects, the Kyoto branch acts as a supplementary studio, providing support for Monolith Soft and on Nintendo's in-house projects. The Kyoto branch has provided support for ' (2011), ' (2012), "Pikmin 3" (2013), ' (2013), "Splatoon", (2015), ' (2015), ' (2017), "Splatoon 2" (2017), and "" (2020). By the beginning of 2012, Namco Bandai had sold its remaining 400 shares in Monolith Soft to Nintendo.