With the rise of bigger and more successful publishers buying other companies, it seems normal nowadays for developer houses to be quickly acquired by interested parties. Most notably, Microsoft has gone on quite a bit of a shopping spree in the gaming space these past few years. Most recently, the purchase of all of Bethesda’s properties has brought a lot of people’s attention to the reality and fate of competition when developing games. Microsoft, of course, is notorious for doing this in the past with both Rareware and Double Fine In a recent report published in Bloomberg Japan, it was reported that multiple publishers and interested parties were actively discussing the purchase of Square Enix. While the rumors brought a lot of attention to the possibility of the developer’s future, this has been debunked. In an official statement released by Square Enix Japan, they dispelled the rumors of any sale or interested party contacting them.
Square Enix here in Japan just reacted officially, shooting down the rumor: https://t.co/HIzftxthGR https://t.co/jrwy2mbgHn pic.twitter.com/envQ33gIKO
— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) April 16, 2021
While the news might not seem surprising to some, there are so many different companies that would be interested in a full purchase of Square Enix. Sony arguably has the most to gain from such a purchase as keeping their exclusivity rights even longer or perhaps forever. Yet, the issue with selling out to a specific publisher shows itself in sales possibilities. Doing well to release titles on other platforms and even newer PC ports, Square Enix knows their advantage by keeping everything in-house.
Whilst the company has shipped titles like Marvel’s Avengers or Balan Wonderland to harsh reception recently; this by no means indicates they are in jeopardy or are need of a sale. Square Enix Japan making a quick response to quiet any discussion is a good sign that the sale rumors will continue to stay that way.
So do you think Square Enix is better by themselves? Let us know in the comments down below!
