Square Enix Denies Reports Of Acquisition

Japanese games company Square Enix has denied reports that say it is getting acquired. This comes following closely after a report that says several potential buyers were showing interest in the company.

The report initially came from a subscription news site CTFN, which was then cited by Bloomberg Japan. It quoted two bankers who were reportedly familiar with the matter. There were speculations as to whether the supposed acquisition will involve only the gaming arm of Square Enix, or the entirety of the company. For context, the company does have a manga editing house.

Shortly after the report got widespread attention, the company shot down the acquisition reports with an official statement. In it, the company says that not only is it not selling, but also that it has not been approached by any third parties.

Normally, the acquisition of such a major video games publisher would not have been so easily believed. But the acquisition of ZeniMax Media by Microsoft has probably changed this. With an acquisition of that scale, a company as large as Square Enix getting acquired isn’t all that unbelievable anymore. Of course, there’s also the poor performance of its Marvel’s Avengers game being another factor.

Square Enix Unveils Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children Watches

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is, to put it quite simply, a hit. No surprise, since it’s the remake of probably the most popular of the 15 titles in the series. Maybe it’s because of this success, Square Enix now has watches themed around Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children up for pre-order.

The watch comes in two sizes, 34mm and 39mm. On the left, it has the Cloudy Wolf emblem embossed. Fainter feathers are on the right to represent the One-Winged Angel Sephiroth. Naturally, only the number seven is represented in Roman numerals. There’s also a limited edition model which switches out the black subdial with one with a pearl background to represent the lifestream.

It’s definitely an odd decision on the part of Square Enix. After all, why put out a watch for Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children when it’s the remake of the base game that’s the one taking up the space in fans’ heads? But then again, Final Fantasy 7 Remake itself has been a strange one, with a lot of extra elements not found in the original added in. And with the upcoming Yuffie DLC, the publisher is  bringing in a notable character from Dirge of Cerberus.

At any rate, the Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children watch is priced at US$299 (~RM1231), or US$349 (~RM1437) for the limited edition model. The two different sizes are priced the same, and all four variants are now up for pre-order. But getting them in Malaysia will likely be a lot more pricey than what’s on the price tag. After all, Square Enix doesn’t officially ship to our shores, and you’ll need a mail forwarding service of some sort.

Square Enix Brings Banhammer Down On Thousands Of Final Fantasy 14 Players For Real Money Trading

Square Enix recently brought down the banhammer on thousands of players in its MMORPG, Final Fantasy 14 (FF14). The bans were issued between 25 February and 3 March, and all players were involved in Real Money Trading (RMT) schemes, as well as other illicit activities.

The video games studio confirmed its action via its official blog post, stating that it had, at the time of this article, terminated 5037 accounts after it was discovered that they had engaged in RMT, along with another 814 accounts for advertising or otherwise attempting to create a deal that involved real currency. Instead of the in-game currency, Gil.

It comes as no surprise that this Square Enix’s first foray with RMT offenders. Back in 2019, the publisher cum developer banned over 9500 accounts for the same reason and in several of those instances, many of those “players” turned out to be bots.

On a somewhat related note, Square Enix announced that its next expansion, Endwalker, recently and that the game would be available sometime closer to the end of the year.

Square Enix Reportedly Planning On Several Remakes Of Specific Franchise

It’s being alleged that Square Enix currently has remakes of several series on the assembly line. Moreover, the Japanese video game studio and developer has brought on Forever Entertainment, the studio behind the Panzer Dragoon Remake, as its partner in this endeavour.

Both the deal and partnership was announced by Forever Entertainment via a press release, translated from Polish into English by a forum member of Resetera. It reveals that the Polish studio entered into a deal to make multiple remakes, all reportedly stemming from a “single intellectual property”.

As to what that IP is, both Square Enix and Forever Entertainment are, unfortunately, keeping mum and choosing to withhold that information from the masses. Until a time they deem to be appropriate, naturally.

It’s not a secret that Square Enix has been on something of a remake kick of late, the most obvious example being last year’s release of Final Fantasy VII Remake, although the entirety of the remake was handled internally. It is also undeniable that the company has a sizable library of video game IPs that includes the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex franchise.

In any case, it’s clear that we’re all just going to have to adopt a wait-and-see stance with the two studios. Who knows, maybe we’ll hear something during the digital platform at E3 this year.