Square Enix

Overview

Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., usually referred to as just Square Enix, is a Japanese developer and publisher best known for their console role-playing games. Their top franchises include Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Dragon Quest. The company was formed on April 1, 2003 when Enix legally absorbed Square resulting in a merger. Square stockholders received 0.85 shares in the new company, whereas Enix stockholders received a one-to-one trade. In spite of this, it was actually mostly Square's top officials who assumed leadership roles in the new company, including Square president Yoichi Wada, who was appointed president of the new company. Square Enix is different from most game companies in that they create content across many mediums, such as film and comics, instead of just focusing on games.

History

• On April 1, 2003, Enix absorbed Square and Square Enix was formed.
• In January 2005, Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd. was established as a wholly owned subsidiary.

• On September 28, 2005, the company acquired Taito as a consolidated subsidiary.
• In August 2008, Square Enix announced their new brand, Pure Dreams. The brand will focus on casual character based games, mostly for the Nintendo DS. The first two games announced for the brand were Snoopy DS: Let's Go Meet Snoopy and His Friends and Pingu Waku Waku Carnival. Both games were released in the fall of 2008 in Japan.
• In October 2008, the company implemented pure holding company system and changed its name to Square Enix Holdings.
• On April 22, 2009, Square Enix completed an estimated $120 million dollar purchase of developer Eidos Interactive, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Subsidiaries

Square Enix owns the following subsidiaries:

• Square Enix Group (formerly Squaresoft and Enix)
  • Square Product Development Divisions 1-8
  • Enix Product Development Divisions 9-10
  • Visual Works (formerly Square Visual Works)
• Taito Group
  • Effort Co., Ltd.
  • Amusement Co., Ltd.
  • Beijing Taixin
  • Taito Korea
  • Byking
• Square Enix Europe (formerly Eidos Interactive)
  • Square Enix Ltd.
  • Square Enix London Studios
  • Beautiful Game Studios
  • Crystal Dynamics
• Square Enix Montreal
  • Eidos Montreal
• Square Enix Shanghai
  • Eidos Shanghai
• Square Enix Mobile

IO Interactive was a subsidiary of Square Enix Europe until 2017, when it became an independent studio, maintaining the rights to the Hitman franchise and Freedom Fighters.

Game Franchises

Square Enix has multiple franchises under its banner, ranging from Final Fantasy to Tomb Raider.

Square Enix Group (formerly Squaresoft and Enix)

• Final Fantasy
• Dragon Quest
• Kingdom Hearts
• Death Trap
• SaGa
• Mana
• Chrono
• Front Mission
• Tactics Ogre
• Star Ocean
• Valkyrie Profile
• Drakengard
• Fullmetal Alchemist
• Call of Duty (publisher in Japan)

Taito Group

• Space Invaders
• Bubble Bobble
• Chase HQ
• Darius
• Lufia
• Cooking Mama
• Gunslinger Stratos

Square Enix Europe (formerly Eidos Interactive)

• Tomb Raider
• Deus Ex
• Hitman
• Kane & Lynch
• Just Cause
• Legacy of Kain
• Thief
• Sleeping Dogs

Square Enix Products

Square Enix's merchandising division, known as "Square Enix Products", is a part of the company which creates items such as toys and figures relating to many of their franchises.

Many of these are action figures, jewelry trinkets etc. - known as "Sculpture Arts" - are designed in very intricate detail and usually are much more expensive than normal items.

Recently, the line of products produced by Square Enix has extended out from their in-house series, and they have produced items for Metal Gear Solid, Halo: Reach, Bayonetta, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Assassin's Creed, and more.

Square Enix Extreme Edges

This is the classification given to North American and European titles published by Square Enix in Japan. Titles released under this banner range include Blur, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Singularity, and Bloodstone 007.

List of games developed by Square Enix