Square Enix released a statement today announcing a new partnership with Tencent Holdings. The goal of the alliance is reportedly to “establish a joint-venture company, co-develop AAA titles based on new intellectual properties, license existing intellectual properties, and more.” Steven Ma, Senior Vice President of Tencent, elaborated on the new partnership by stating:
“We have strong expectations for this strategic alliance with Square Enix 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.”
Additionally, Yosuke Matsuda, President and Representative Director of Tencent confirmed the goals behind the partnership:
“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. 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.”
Tencent is known for licensing popular IPs and distributing them in China. Although, no specific games from Square Enix were mentioned in relation to the partnership. Some notable Square Enix releases from 2018 include Octopath Traveler, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Dragon Quest 11, among others.
The potential to globally distribute Square Enix properties is exciting, especially for gamers living in China where it can be nearly impossible to acquire gaming licenses from the Chinese government. We’ll update this story as more information comes out regarding the partnership between Tencent and Square Enix.
In the meantime, what do you think of Tencent potentially licensing and distributing Square Enix properties on a global scale? Let us know down in the comments below!
