Square Enix Is Gravitating Toward “Aggressive” AI Use, Reveals President

In a New Year’s letter, Takashi Kiryu revealed that Square Enix is aiming to aggressively apply AI and other similar tech in both the development and publication of video games. The president specifically mentioned blockchain entertainment, Web 3.0, AI, and the cloud as fields of interest the Japanese gaming company would like to invest in.

We also intend to be aggressive in applying AI and other cutting-edge technologies to both our content development and our publishing functions. In terms of new business domains, we previously identified three focus investment fields, namely blockchain entertainment/Web 3.0, AI, and the cloud.”

Kiryu also disclosed that Square Enix wants to make use of these technologies to make better content for its customers in the long term. According to him, these innovations in the field of AI represent a fresh avenue in the business. And, to utilize it in the best way possible, the gaming giant is currently reorganizing its structure so AI can get all the support it needs.

In the longer term, we hope to leverage those technologies to create new forms of content for consumers, as we believe that technological innovation represents business opportunities. Last year we redefined our overarching mission and goals for these three fields. We are currently working to modify our organizational structure and optimize our resource allocations to support these efforts.”

Besides AI, Takashi Kiryu also mentioned the work Square Enix is doing to promote the eventual shift to digital media. According to the company’s president, this move to digital will let more customers utilize their catalog of video games and also let the studio maximize sales. Hence, not all of Square Enix’s future plans are bad.

We are working to enable greater global collaboration and to promote the shift to digital. We see this as an effective means not only to maximize our sales of new titles, but also to deliver our rich back catalog to more customers and in turn to expand the fan base for our Group’s intellectual properties (IPs).”

The developer’s first big release in 2024 is going to be Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which will launch exclusively for the PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2023.