Rising Star Games, a British publisher that focuses on importing Japanese titles to Europe, has opened an office in the U.S. Rising Star’s portfolio includes popular games such as Harvest Moon and King of Fighters XIII. Their first release will be the shooter Akai Katana for the Xbox 360 and will be released sometime in the second quarter of 2012.

Additionally, Rising Star Games Digital has been established to handle downloadable releases which will include publishing titles for XBLA. COO, Martin Defries had this to say about the expansion:

“After eight years of fantastic success in bringing the best Eastern games to Europe, we’re ready to expand our business, engaging more consumers than ever before in more territories and on digital platforms.

Rising Star Games Digital has been something we’ve been working on for a while. We envisage a huge growth in downloadable product over the coming years, and intend to play a big part shaping the future development of our exciting industry.”

Source: MCVUK