It isn't afraid of changes.
Image credit: Square Enix | Final Fantasy 16
2024 is here, and many companies, including Square Enix, have shared their plans for the year. The Final Fantasy creator is ready to change and strengthen its positions, according to a letter from its president Takashi Kiryu.
There, he mentioned some areas he thought were valuable last year, like movies, AI, and extended reality (XR). In particular, 2023 saw the rise of new XR services, and next, the industry should apply these technologies "to new forms of content that fuse the real and virtual worlds."
There was a boom of artificial intelligence, too. Kiryu said that ChatGPT showed that AI is not limited to text, and now generative AI has spread to a variety of domains connected to digital entertainment, including images, video, and music. The company is planning to be "aggressive" in applying AI and other tech to its content development and our publishing functions.
"I believe that generative AI has the potential not only to reshape what we create, but also to fundamentally change the processes by which we create, including programming," he said (via GamesBeat).
Image credit: Square Enix | Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth
The president reassured everyone that the company is working to strengthen its content development and publishing capabilities in the Digital Entertainment business. Square Enix is busy with both existing titles as well as products and services that "meet the expectations of our customers more than ever before." It has started optimization efforts to strengthen its internal development capabilities.
Moreover, it is working to "enable greater global collaboration and to promote the shift to digital."
"We see this as an effective means not only to maximize our sales of new titles, but also to deliver our rich back catalog to more customers and in turn to expand the fan base for our Group’s intellectual properties (IPs)."
It is also focused on comics of different genres and real-world entertainment to "convey the appeal of our content in a more multidimensional way," such as film and animation adaptations. Additionally, Square Enix is striving to make mechanisms that can help it diversify its earnings sources.
If you're interested in the company's plans and wishes for this year, check out the full letter here. Also, join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.