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'Dragon Quest Builders' comes to the West this October
It's hard to talk about Dragon Quest Builders without mentioning Minecraft. Clearly, Square Enix has taken inspiration from the block-building phenomenon developed by Mojang. But the two play quite differently -- Builders is a more structured adventure with clear objectives and villagers to help. The game launched on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita back in January, but that was only for Japan. Today, Square Enix has confirmed it'll be coming to the West too, arriving on PS4 and PS Vita (digital-only) this October.
'Hitman' will take you to Morocco on May 31st
Where do you go after murdering the French fashion scene and defending the art of assassination in Italy? For Agent 47, the hired killer that defines the Hitman games, that's up to his handlers -- and on May 31st, they're sending him to Morocco.
Everything hinges on 'Final Fantasy XV'
Final Fantasy XV has to be perfect. After a decade of development hell, a name change from Versus XIII to XV, a complete mechanical overhaul and a director swap, die-hard series fans aren't just hungry for the game; they're reeling. Many players who were excited about Final Fantasy Versus XIII as teenagers remain interested in Final Fantasy XV as adults. After all, the Final Fantasy series debuted in 1987 and played a pivotal role in plenty of fans' young lives. But as the years have dragged on, a ripple of discontent has nudged against this fierce loyalty. In the decade of delays, some longtime players have simply declared the franchise dead.
'Final Fantasy XV' lands September 30th
Final Fantasy XV hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 30th, Square Enix announced during its Uncovered live event in Los Angeles. The release date may not be a surprise for everyone, considering it leaked a tad early, but this announcement marks official confirmation. A new teaser for FFXV launches tonight, called Platinum Demo, and it's free to download on PS4 and Xbox One. PC players, you're out of luck -- for now. FFXV director Hajime Tabata told Engadget that the studio isn't currently working on a PC version of the game. But, Tabata said he was "aware of the big call for a PC version."
Watch the live 'Final Fantasy XV' event right here
Square Enix is calling today's big event in Los Angeles Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV, so prepare for some serious revelations. The game has been in development for a decade, and it hasn't been a particularly smooth ride. It was originally called Final Fantasy Versus XIII and it was under the direction of longtime Final Fantasy contributor Tetsuya Nomura, but more than half-way through development it changed names and directors. Final Fantasy XV as we know it is directed by Hajime Tabata, the director of Final Fantasy Type-0, Agito and Type-0 HD. Final Fantasy XV has been a long time coming and today we might figure out exactly (and officially) when, how and why it will finally arrive. Watch the Uncovered event live with us, right here at 7PM PT (10PM ET).
Square Enix games will stream to NVIDIA Shield
Publisher Square Enix is adding many of its titles to GeForce Now, the game subscription service for NVIDIA Shield devices. 2013's Tomb Raider will be first, followed by other franchises like Sleeping Dogs, Quantum Conundrum and Murdered: Soul Suspect.
'Hitman Go' lands on PS4, Vita and PC next week
Hitman Go is an incredible mobile title that launched in 2014 and spawned a new line of subtle strategy games from developer Square Enix Montreal, including Lara Croft Go. Now, the Hitman Go: Definitive Edition is heading to PlayStation 4, Vita and PC via Steam on February 23rd in the US (February 24th in Europe). The Definitive Edition includes the full game and all of its add-on content, featuring updated visuals, for $8 (€8 / £6.50).
'Final Fantasy IX' is now on iOS and Android
You could argue that Final Fantasy IX is the long-running series' high point. It's certainly the highest-rated Final Fantasy game on Metacritic, even if its sales and nostalgic value pale in comparison to Final Fantasy VII. Putting that argument aside for a moment, it's easy to say that it's definitely a game worth playing if you like JRPGs. And now -- less than two months after it was announced -- it's available on iOS and Android. The bar for entry has never been lower.
'Hitman' blows his cover next week on PlayStation 4
The cold, calculated killer known only as Agent 47 returns to do what he does best sooner than we thought. That's assuming you have a PlayStation 4 and have pre-ordered the next game starring the cloned assassin, of course. While it might be going a different direction in terms of structure (multi-season, downloadable and episodic versus a traditional retail release), publisher Square Enix is sadly clinging to old methods of promo.
Photo contest awards $10,000 for finding 'everyday heroes'
Attention class, it's time to get your submissions ready for Mr. Jefferson's "Everyday Heroes" photo contest. Well, not really, but Life is Strange publisher Square Enix is bringing the sweepstakes from its tale of a time-traveling teen into the real world. Unlike in the game, you aren't competing for a trip to San Francisco to showcase your work. Here you're vying for a $10,000 scholarship while you hopefully "discover and capture how normal people make the world a better place," as a post on the Square Enix blog puts it.
Play the video game starring David Bowie for free
David Bowie was a man ahead of his time across a range of industries, including gaming. The man and his music are featured in the 1999 game Omikron: The Nomad Soul, from the studio that went on to create Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. If you're familiar with those games -- yes, Omikron is a fairly trippy experience. Its publisher, Square Enix, has decided to offer Omikron for free today through January 22nd, in honor of Bowie's life and his surprising death this week at the age of 69. To hold your own digital vigil for The Man who Fell to Earth, use the promo code "omikron" at checkout on the Square Enix store.
Square Enix closes its 'Shinra' cloud gaming business
Square Enix's mysterious cloud-based gaming business, Shinra Technologies, is no more. We saw little from the secretive project, which was founded in 2014 and headed by former Square Enix president Yoichi Wada. Shinra, named after the corporation in Final Fantasy VII, was promising a platform that developers could draw on to make their games more technically impressive. So instead of being limited by the player's hardware -- a PS4, PC or similar -- studios could leverage the cloud to create better explosions, water effects or densely populated worlds. A few developers were involved in an early prototype accelerator program; independent game studio Camouflaj, which worked on the mobile-optimized stealth game Republique, Human Head, the team behind Prey, and Hardsuit Labs, which created the free-to-play shooter Blacklight: Retribution. The results, if any, are unknown at the moment. Square Enix will take an "extraordinary loss" of 2.2 billion yen (about $16.8 million) by closing down Shinra Technologies, which has offices in Montreal, New York and Tokyo. The Japanese gaming giant said the decision was made after it failed to raise new capital from outside investors. Whatever Shinra Technologies was working on, it seems unlikely that we'll see it in a video game now. It does, however, mean that Square Enix can maintain its focus on other projects -- namely Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
'Rise of the Tomb Raider' officially hits PCs this month
The latest Lara Croft game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, launches on Steam, the Windows store and other retailers on January 28th, Square Enix announced today. Rise of the Tomb Raider popped up on Steam last month with a vague promise to hit PC sometime in January. It wasn't the most complicated clue to figure out, but at least it turned out to be accurate.
'Final Fantasy XV' hits the road in 2016
Final Fantasy XV has been in development for what seems like an eternity. But being New Year's Eve (or Day, depending on where you live), changes are afoot: Final Fantasy XV and its all-dude bro'd-trip will release in 2016. The news comes by way of a Square Enix blog post written by none other than the game's director, Hajime Tabata. "In development, previous phases required wisdom and strength," he writes. "However, moving toward the final phase will focus on effort and willpower." Sure!
'Final Fantasy IX' is headed to PCs and phones next year
The last Playstation 1-era Final Fantasy is finally getting remastered. Square Enix announced this morning that Final Fantasy IX will make its way to PCs and phones next year, Kotaku reports. There's no release date or Western launch confirmed yet, but the latter is likely since Square has brought over its other remastered Final Fantasy titles. The launch trailer shows off slightly better-looking characters, and it lists a few new features, including auto-save, achievements and a high-speed mode. While it never quite received the fanfare of Square's other PS1 Final Fantasy games, this remaster might be a chance for FF IX to find the audience it deserves.
'Rise of the Tomb Raider' hits PC in January, Steam says
The PC version of Rise of the Tomb Raider is due in January, according to the game's Steam listing. Square Enix has yet to confirm a date for the desktop launch of its latest Tomb Raider installment, though in July it announced the PC and Windows 10 editions would drop in "early 2016." The PS4 version should release in late 2016. We've reached out to Square Enix for clarification on the Steam listing.
Square Enix Montreal gets what makes mobile games great
Apple recently named Lara Croft Go its game of the year, and deservedly so. But the back-to-basics 2D puzzler wasn't developer Square Enix Montreal's first stab at mobile gaming. The studio was initially formed to work on a now-cancelled Hitman project for consoles and then transitioned to making premium smartphone and tablet games.Since releasing Hitman Go in 2014 the team has been quietly kicking a lot of ass in the space, launching the excellent Hitman Sniper and Lara Croft Go within roughly two months of each other. It's this type of repeat success that's afforded lead programmer Antoine Routon and his mobile-exclusive team at Square Enix Montreal the freedom to tinker with publisher Square Enix's biggest properties in fresh ways."We have a lot of creative freedom we acquired by delivering good games," he says. "What's the opposite of street cred? Exec cred?" he asks, laughing.
Watch two minutes of remastered 'Final Fantasy VII' on PS4
Square Enix teased a remastered, PlayStation 4 version of Final Fantasy VII back at E3 2015 -- and today we get a better look at what that remake means. Final Fantasy VII kicked off the PlayStation Experience keynote this morning, with a two-minute trailer for the remaster (embedded below) and news that the original game is available on PS4 today. There's no word on a launch window for Final Fantasy VII on PS4 just yet. Update: That said, a press release issued just after the trailer suggests that the remake could arrive in episodic chunks, in what it's calling a "multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience." Hrmmm.
'Final Fantasy VII' is out today on PlayStation 4
The original Final Fantasy VII is available today on PlayStation 4, Sony announced during its PlayStation Experience keynote. This isn't the remake that Sony teased at E3 earlier this year, but it should tide fans over until that massive project launches.
Lara Croft's awesome mobile adventure adds a free tomb to raid
Lara Croft has a pretty big adventure on Xbox One this fall with Rise of the Tomb Raider, but her grand mobile mission is about grow too. Developer Square Enix Montreal announced it's dropping "The Shard of Life" expansion for Lara Croft GO tomorrow for free on Android and iOS (sorry, Windows Phone folks) with some 26 fresh puzzles to tackle while you're waiting in line at the grocery store. More than that, the publisher is knocking 40 percent off the game's price -- it'll run you $2.99 for a limited time. Oh and its hosting a Twitch event tasking the game's community to solve the new puzzles.
