Arc System Works is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama, Japan.  They are best known for their 2D fighting franchises Guilty Gear and BlazBlue as well as their licensed-based fighting games for Dragon Ball and Persona 4.

Founded on May 12, 1988 by Minoru Kidooka as Arc Co. Ltd, the company initially consisted of eight developers, most of whom had previously worked at Sega.  During the company’s early years, the majority of their games were ports of popular titles for various home consoles such as Double Dragon, Vigilante, Ghouls’n Ghosts and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker for the Sega Master System.

Renamed to Arc System Works in 1991 the company began working on a multitude of titles for Sega, Sammy and Banpresto.  In 1995 Arc System Works decided to enter into the world of publishing when they published their own original titles starting with Exector and Wizard’s Harmony.  In 1998, they developed and published the fighting game Guilty Gear, establishing both a long-running fighting game franchise and becoming a key developer in the 2D fighting genre.  They are one of the few companies that are still producing 2D fighting titles for modern video game consoles.

Looking to expand their brand and game catalog the company decided to acquire all Technōs Japan’s intellectual properties from Million Co. Ltd on June 11, 2015.  The acquisition included such franchises as Double Dragon and Kunio-Kun which includes games Renegade, Super Dodge Ball and River City Ransom.  Continuing with their vision to expand they acquired the rights to the Jake Hunter, Theresia, Nazo no Jikenbo, and Koneko no le series from publisher WorkJam on February 6, 2017.