President Takashi Kiryu has shared his plans to slim down Square Enix's lineup of titles.
02.01.2024 - 22:37 / thesixthaxis.com / Square Enix / Takashi Kiryu / Will
Square Enix President Takashi Kiryu has released a new year letter outlining the strategies that the publisher will be adopting going forward. One of those is the application of AI in content development as well as publishing, using AI in conjunction with other technologies. There is also talk of making the development chain more efficient, while on the publishing side there is more effort being put into better collaboration globally in an effort to expand the fan base of Square Enix titles with new games, as well as games from the publisher back catalogue.
Square Enix will still be allocating resources to support expansion in blockchain, Web 3.0, and the Cloud, but the letter does not go into full detail on how these technologies will be implemented in the long term. It seems Square Enix will also be looking at expanding more into VR and augmented reality content in the future too. The full letter from Takashi Kiryu can be read below.
I would like to begin by wishing everyone a happy New Year.
People’s lives took a turn for the better in 2023 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic largely subsiding, after having raged for so long, and to the lifting of the restrictions it had triggered. At the same time, 2023 was also a year of tumult exemplified by an intensification in geopolitical risks and sharp inflation stemming partly from monetary policy moves made by central banks grappling with the pandemic. Regions, countries, and even we as individuals found ourselves in a time of transition as the world struggled to establish what the “new normal” would look like following the pandemic.
With uncertainty on the rise in society as a whole, change was also underway in the realm of digital entertainment, where we position our core business. In 2023, we saw the release of eye-catching products and services in multiple domains where the commercialization and adoption of emerging technologies had seemed a more distant eventuality. The potential of these offerings also garnered greater attention than ever before.
For example, whereas the extended reality (XR) domain had previously developed primarily around business applications for the metaverse and other virtual spaces, 2023 saw the rise of many new services fusing virtual spaces with the real world. A case in point is the way the architecture sector, which previously had limited integration of XR in its business, began increasingly adopting these technologies because they enable the conversion of real-world architectural structures into data, a process also facilitated by the widespread use of commercial drones. In the realm of digital entertainment, where the focus has been on pioneering the development of new content, the experiential value of digital content itself
President Takashi Kiryu has shared his plans to slim down Square Enix's lineup of titles.
Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu believes the company needs to diversify its gaming output, but also focus on fewer releases.
The president of Japanese publishing giant Square Enix, Takashi Kiryu, has said he wants his company's output to be more diverse.
Square Enix recently revealed during the Xbox Developer Direct that Visions of Mana will be released for Xbox during the upcoming summer. During the event, Microsoft unveiled more information about the upcoming Indiana Jones game developed by MachineGames, and details about Avowed and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. However, the appearance of Visions of Mana was the biggest surprise of Xbox Developer Direct.
Square Enix appears to be on the verge of shaking up its development portfolio. According to its president, we may soon see fewer titles, but a more diverse array of genres coming out of a developer and publisher traditionally known for its massive RPG franchises.
Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu says he wants to diversify the studio's lineup of games by relying less on "strong IPs" like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
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Japanese publisher Square Enix has revealed that it used generative artificial intelligence to produce some of the artwork in the upcoming Foamstars.
Yesterday, Square Enix announced that its party shooter Foamstars would launch on February 6th for PS4 and PS5. Despite comparisons to Splatoon, it’s received praise for doing different things. Since it’s also out on day one for PlayStation Plus subscribers, it’s almost guaranteed to have a healthy player base initially.
Square Enix has confirmed that upcoming online shooter Foamstars includes AI-generated art.
PlayStation exclusive shooter Foamstars will feature AI-generated artwork, Square Enix has confirmed, with Foamstars producer Kosuke Okatani clarifying to VGC that «in terms of the content of the game, this makes up about 0.01% or even less.»
Foamstars, Square Enix's Splatoon-like 4v4 online party shooter announced last year, is coming next month. The PlayStation exclusive will release February 6 as a day-one launch title on PS Plus, Sony and Square Enix confirmed Tuesday. The game will be available to download for free on PS5 and PS4 as part of the PlayStation Plus Monthly Games lineup for next month, starting February 6 through March 4. Foamstars was announced at a PlayStation Showcase in May last year, showing off soapy shooting and colourful characters, both heavily inspired by Nintendo's Splatoon games. A PS Plus release will likely attract more players to the multiplayer title in its early days.