When you take even a fast look at a launch schedule for the following six months, you may see that there are a heck of plenty of video games popping out. Look just a little nearer, although, and you may spot that possibly 50 of them are from Sq. Enix. And that is simply on the Swap!
We’re exaggerating, in fact, but it surely’s laborious to disregard the corporate’s completely huge output over the following few months — and for the entire of 2022, actually. We’re not going to checklist each single 2022 Sq. Enix Swap launch right here as a result of that might take up plenty of house (although you possibly can verify all of its video games out proper right here, or scroll to the underside of this text). Nevertheless, from September till subsequent yr Sq. Enix is creating and/or publishing 13 video games on Swap alone. Phew! And naturally, we’re together with PowerWash Simulator in that.
Look, we’re not complaining — it is really type of wonderful to see Sq. Enix put out this many titles, and it seems like we’re in one other golden age with Sq. and Nintendo, similar to the NES and SNES days. However with the September Nintendo Direct, our jaws could not assist however drop with each new Sq. Enix announcement.
We received launch dates for 2 titles, a demo for one more, and two model new reveals in Theatrhythm Closing Bar Line and Octopath Traveler II for February 2023. On different platforms, Sq. Enix additionally has Closing Fantasy XVI popping out subsequent summer time. On high of all the things else! How has this come to move?
Nicely, we stated creating and publishing, and Sq. Enix is not only one massive studio both. Subsequent yr’s headline Closing Fantasy title is, for instance, being developed by Artistic Enterprise Unit III — the workforce behind the MMORPG Closing Fantasy XIV. And it is the identical for the Swap’s many upcoming titles.
There are a number of improvement groups inside Sq. Enix who’re every engaged on a small slate of various titles. Octopath Traveler II is being developed by Purchase, creators of the Tenchu sequence, in collaboration with Sq. Enix Enterprise Division, with Bravely Default producer Tomoya Asano returning to go up the mission. Followers typically dub these video games — the Bravely sequence, and the HD-2D video games — the works of Crew Asano. Varied Daylife additionally falls into this class, although the just lately launched Swap port in actual fact originated on Apple Arcade and was developed by DokiDoki Groove Works.
You’ve got additionally received a slate of ports or remasters coming to the console, reminiscent of NieR: Automata — which was developed by PlatinumGames and is being ported by Virtuos — and Yasumi Matsuno is returning to oversee Techniques Ogre: Reborn. Then there’s the delayed Life is Unusual assortment, which Sq. Enix is publishing.
Numerous studios, each internally and externally, assist develop or carry Sq. Enix titles to the Swap, too. Indieszero is again to work on the brand new Theatrhythm sport, and The DioField Chronicle’s real-time technique is coming from Lancarse, the workforce behind Zanki Zero: Final Starting and Monark.
After all, regardless of a big chunk of them being RPGs or RPG-adjacent, they’re all fairly completely different from each other. Individuals who decide up Harvestella will not essentially be the identical crowd who need Octopath Traveler II, and The DioField Chronicle is completely different sufficient from Techniques Ogre — which additionally has nostalgia on its aspect — to face out. And even should you love your Closing Fantasy music, Theatrhythm may not be for you!*
All of those releases observe an announcement made by the corporate just lately, which suggests Sq. might be seeking to promote stakes in a few of its remaining studios following a Q1 FY2023 drop in earnings. The Japanese-based developer has additionally offered off numerous its Western studios to Embracer Group, with the deal finalising again in August.
So, the corporate has received just a little bit extra money to play with. However the fact is that plenty of these upcoming tasks have most likely been in improvement for some time — July’s Reside A Reside remake took three years to develop, for instance.
A lot to many followers’ chagrin, Sq. Enix has additionally jumped into the world of NFTs, releasing Closing Fantasy-based ones, in addition to becoming a member of a blockchain — all eco-friendly, apparently. The corporate president Yosuke Matsuda hasn’t been shy about admitting his curiosity in NFTs, and lots of the firm’s earnings have been invested in these. So maybe Sq. Enix is making an attempt to cover this from us players by throwing dozens of video games at us, proper?
Most likely not, however whereas the corporate does not appear to grasp customers on one hand, with the opposite it has been pumping out demos for lots of its releases. Way back to Dragon Quest XI S and the primary Octopath Traveler, proper as much as Harvestella and the PlayStation console-exclusive Valkyrie Elysium, these demos work massively in Sq.’s favour, enabling individuals to check out the sport earlier than they purchase it. Not solely that, these demos permit us to switch our save file over to the complete launch, which suggests after we resolve to purchase the complete sport, we have shaved off a number of hours of playtime forward of schedule. End result!
Sq. Enix will not be slowing down anytime quickly, we’re certain. There are a number of tasks we’ve not heard from shortly and a few Japan-only releases just like the visible novel Components with Feelings, however us? We’ll be feasting for some time. Triangle Technique and Reside A Reside are two of the most effective video games launched on the Swap this yr, and there are some top-quality titles on the horizon (properly, we hope). We’re simply feeling a little bit overwhelmed amidst a massively busy slate within the latter months of 2022, particularly for RPG followers.
However this is not all about us! Vote in our polls under and tell us what you consider Sq. Enix’s output in the mean time. Is it a Blizzaga-style flurry of overwhelming proportions? Or are you as cheerful as a Chocobo seeing all of those video games come out? Oh, and do not forget to inform us what you assume within the feedback, too.
*That is factually incorrect, as Theatrhythm is for completely everybody. Play it, now.