This is a list of video game franchises by Square Enix , a Japanese video game development and publishing company formed from the merger of Enix and Square on April 1, 2003. [1] Square Enix acquired Taito in September 2005, which continues to publish its own video games, [2] and acquired game publisher Eidos Interactive in April 2009, which was merged with Square Enix's European publishing wing and renamed as Square Enix Europe. [3]
Since its inception, the company has developed or published hundreds of titles in various video game franchises on numerous gaming systems. The company is best known for its role-playing video game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy , Dragon Quest , and Kingdom Hearts series. Of its properties, the Final Fantasy franchise is the best-selling, with a total worldwide sales of over 173 million units. [4] [5] The Dragon Quest series has sold over 85 million units worldwide [4] [5] and is one of the most popular video game series in Japan, [6] while the Kingdom Hearts series has shipped over 36 million copies worldwide. [4] [5]
This list includes franchises in which Square Enix, or its original components Enix and Square, or its subsidiaries, were the primary developer or publisher, even if the series was begun prior to the subsidiary's acquisition. Franchises are defined as any set of interconnected media consisting of more than one release, and video game franchises are defined as franchises which were initially created as a video game or series of video games.
Franchise | Primary genre(s) | Number of games [c] | First released | Last published by Square Enix |
---|---|---|---|---|
Deus Ex † | Real-time tactics, first-person shooter | 7 | 2000, Deus Ex [14] | 2017, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – VR Experience [38] |
Hitman † | Stealth, action-adventure | 15 | 2000, Hitman: Codename 47 | 2023, Hitman: Blood Money - Reprisal |
Legacy of Kain † | Action-adventure | 6 | 1996, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain [25] | 2024, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered [14] |
Thief † | Stealth, action-adventure | 4 | 1998, Thief: The Dark Project [14] | 2014, Thief [20] |
Tomb Raider † | Action-adventure | 23 | 1996, Tomb Raider [4] | 2024, Tomb Raider I–III Remastered |
Square Co., Ltd., also known under its international brand name SquareSoft, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto, who spun off part of his father's electronics company Den-Yu-Sha. Among its early employees were designers Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Initially focusing on action games, the team saw popular success with the role-playing video game Final Fantasy in 1987, which would lead to the franchise of the same name being one of its tentpole franchises. Later notable staff included directors Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita, designer and writer Yasumi Matsuno, artists Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora, and composers Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu.
Tomb Raider, known as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise is currently owned by CDE Entertainment; it was formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, then by Square Enix Europe after Square Enix's acquisition of Eidos in 2009 until Embracer Group purchased the intellectual property alongside Eidos in 2022. The franchise focuses on the fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels around the world searching for lost artefacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins. Gameplay generally focuses on exploration, solving puzzles, navigating hostile environments filled with traps, and fighting enemies. Additional media has been developed for the franchise in the form of film adaptations, comics and novels.
Taito Corporation is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the Taito Trading Company, importing vodka, vending machines, and jukeboxes into Japan. It began production of video games in 1973. In 2005, Taito was purchased by Square Enix, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary by 2006.
Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing game franchises, such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, among numerous others. Outside of video game publishing and development, it is also in the business of merchandise, arcade facilities, and manga publication under its Gangan Comics brand.
Enix Corporation was a Japanese multimedia publisher who handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting to branch into real estate management. Beginning in 1982, Enix began publishing video games. Three notable early collaborators were designers Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura, and composer Koichi Sugiyama. Horii, Nakamura and Sugiyama would all work on the 1986 role playing video game (RPG) Dragon Quest for the Family Computer; one of the earliest successful RPGs for consoles, it spawned a franchise of the same name which remains Enix's best-known product.
IO Interactive A/S (IOI) is a Danish video game developer based in Copenhagen, best known for creating and developing the Hitman and Kane and Lynch franchises. IO Interactive's most recent game is Hitman 3, which was released in January 2021.
Eidos Interactive Limited was a British video game publisher based in Wimbledon, London. Among its notable franchises were Championship Manager, Deus Ex, Hitman, Thief, and Tomb Raider. Domark was founded by Mark Strachan and Dominic Wheatley in 1984. In 1995, it was acquired by software company Eidos. Ian Livingstone, who held a stake in Domark, became executive chairman of Eidos and held various roles including creative director. Eidos took over U.S. Gold in 1996, which included developer Core Design, and merged its operations including Domark, which created publishing subsidiary Eidos Interactive. The company acquired Crystal Dynamics in 1998, and owned numerous other assets. In 2005, parent Eidos was taken over by games publisher SCi. The combined company, SCi Entertainment Group, which was briefly renamed Eidos, was itself taken over by Square Enix in 2009.
Just Cause is a 2006 third-person action-adventure game set in an open world environment. It is developed by Swedish developer Avalanche Studios and published by Eidos Interactive, and is the first game in the Just Cause series. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360. The area explored during the game is described as being over 1,024 km2 (395 sq mi) in size, with 21 story missions and over 300 side missions to complete. As of 23 April 2009, it has sold more than one million copies.
Eidos Interactive Corporation is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal and part of Embracer Group. The studio was founded by Stéphane D'Astous in 2007 under SCi Entertainment. It became part of Square Enix Europe in 2009 and CDE Entertainment in 2022.
Dragon Quest Builders is a 2016 sandbox action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android iOS, and Microsoft Windows and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch.
Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango.
Square Enix Montréal was a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal. It created the Go series of turn-based puzzle games for mobile devices based on former Eidos Interactive intellectual properties.
Square Enix Image Studio Division, is a Japan-based CGI animation studio dedicated towards creating video game cut scenes and full-length feature films for Square Enix. Square Enix Image Studio Division was founded as Visual Works, the CGI department for Square that was responsible for creating the pre-rendered CG sequences for the company, starting with Final Fantasy VII in 1997.