Square Enix is an industry giant who has produced many great games in the past across a variety of genres. They are set to release Dragon Quest XI worldwide on September 4th, releasing its PC system requirements earlier today. Square Enix is perhaps best known for its Final Fantasy series. Whereas Tencent is known as the studio that published Fortnite and PUBG for Mobile devices in recent times. Now Square Enix and Tencent have announced a strategic alliance in order to work on a number of future projects.
The apparent need for this is to work on developing new AAA titles. Given the recent popularity of Tencent and the monolithic status of Square Enix, some fairly exciting AAA titles could come from this merger. This alliance is also said to help with the licensing of currently existing Intellectual Properties.
Square Enix and Tencent are also said to make a joint-venture company out of this merger. Could this mean a new studio? Only time will tell but this news is certainly very exciting for fans of either studio.
Below is the full press release for the Square Enix and Tencent strategic alliance for the aforementioned purposes:
SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (the “Company”), today announced that the Company and Tencent Holdings Limited have signed a letter of intent to create a strategic alliance between the high-quality content provider and the mega internet service provider. Square Enix Group is making tireless efforts to offer unique content experiences to its fans all over the world through multifaceted business deployment. Square Enix Group will be accelerating these business development efforts to enhance its content services worldwide through this strategic alliance with Tencent Group. Outcomes of this newly created alliance include the establishment of a joint-venture company, co-development of AAA titles based on new intellectual properties, the licensing of existing intellectual properties, and more. “We have strong expectations for this strategic alliance with Square Enix Group,” says Steven Ma, Senior Vice President, Tencent Group. “The alliance will enable us to couple our broad range of internet service capabilities to Square Enix Group’s superb creativity, and provide our customers with unprecedented content experiences on a global basis.” “Tencent Group and Square Enix Group share the vision of utilizing technology and creativity to deliver unprecedented entertainment experiences and services to a global audience,” said Yosuke Matsuda, President and Representative Director of Square Enix Holdings. “This newly established alliance will be a strong boost to Square Enix Group’s strategy to diversify our content offerings and expand access channels to a wider customer base.” Further details of the strategic alliance will be announced at a later date as progress is made.
Are you excited for the Square Enix and Tencent alliance? Let us know what you think of this and what it could mean for the future of both studios, in the comments below!