 | |
| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 2014 [1] |
| Founders | Phil Elliott |
| Headquarters | Blackfriars, London, United Kingdom |
Number of employees | 4 |
| Parent | Square Enix Limited |
| Website | collective |
Square Enix Collective is an indie games division of Square Enix Limited. [2] Created by Phil Elliott in 2014, it is a self-titled "service provider for Indie developers", which helps get a developer's game published while they maintain their creative control. [1] [3]
First announced by former journalist Phil Elliott in November 2013 at Game Developers Conference Next, former Eidos Interactive intellectual properties (IPs) were potentially available for developers. [4] [5] In February 2015, Fear Effect , Gex and Anachronox were available to pitch. [6] Originally Collective partnered with Indiegogo for crowdfunding. [7] [8]
In 2016, developers would submit a pitch to the company on a rolling basis. The pitches would then be presented to the public through the Collective's website, and a polling process would take place once a week, with anyone welcome to vote on the projects that excited them. While the polling process was not the sole determinate for which developers the Collective would assist, it played a pivotal role. [9] Square Enix took five percent of the games' revenue after fees. [10]
According to Square Enix, it helped with Kickstarter fundraising campaigns raising $1.2m in total. [2] Notable games which had campaigns include Moonlighter , Ultimate Chicken Horse and Moon Hunters . In October 2018, the company announced they would be closing their platform for campaign curation, instead focusing on larger and specific products without the element of public polling. [11] In August 2022, Bulkhead Interactive ended its relationship with Collective and said it was disappointed Battalion 1944 did not release on consoles. [12] In February 2023, Elliott left Square Enix and became CEO of publisher Modern Wolf. [13]
| Release | Title | Developer(s) | Platform(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Goetia | Sushee | Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux | [14] |
| The Turing Test | Bulkhead Interactive | PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch | [15] | |
| 2017 | Tokyo Dark | Cherrymochi | Microsoft Windows | [16] |
| Children of Zodiarcs | Cardboard Utopia | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Mac | [17] | |
| Black the Fall | Sand Sailor Studio | Microsoft Windows, PS4, Xbox One | [18] | |
| Deadbeat Heroes | Deadbeat Productions | Microsoft Windows | [18] | |
| Oh My Godheads | Titutitech | Microsoft Windows | [18] | |
| 2018 | Octahedron: Transfixed Edition | Demimonde | Nintendo Switch | [19] |
| Fear Effect Sedna | Sushee | Microsoft Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | [20] | |
| Forgotton Anne | ThroughLine Games | macOS, Microsoft Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, Android | [21] | |
| Boundless | Wonderstruck Games | Microsoft Windows | [22] | |
| 2019 | Battalion 1944 | Bulkhead Interactive | Microsoft Windows | [23] |
| 2021 | Circuit Superstars | Original Fire Games | PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Switch | [24] |
| 2022 | PowerWash Simulator | FuturLab | Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 | [25] |
| 2023 | Little Goody Two Shoes | AstralShift | Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch | [26] |
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, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts, 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.
Gex is a platformer video game series, developed by Crystal Dynamics, that details the adventures of an anthropomorphic gecko named Gex. He has served as the mascot of Crystal Dynamics, appearing on their company logo for several years up until the year 2000. In the North American version, Gex is voiced by the comedian Dana Gould; the United Kingdom version features Gould as well as Leslie Phillips and Danny John-Jules as the voice of Gex. Gex was voiced by Mitsuo Senda in the Japanese release of the second game.
Crystal Dynamics, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Mateo, California. The studio is best known for its games in the Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, and Gex series.
Eidos Interactive Limited was a British video game publisher based in Wimbledon, London. Its games series included Championship Manager (1992), Tomb Raider (1996) and Hitman (2000). 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.
Gex is a platform game developed by Crystal Dynamics. It was originally released for the 3DO in 1995; ports of the game for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn were later developed by Beam Software, and a Windows version was released by Microsoft. It was a pack-in game for Panasonic models of the 3DO later in the console's life. It is the first in the Gex series of video games, and introduces players to the title character, a wisecracking, television-obsessed gecko voiced by comedian Dana Gould, who must venture through the "Media Dimension" and defeat Rez, the overlord of the dimension who wants to make Gex into his new network mascot.
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.
Rockstar Dundee Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Dundee. The studio is best known for developing Crackdown 2.
5th Cell is an independently owned American video game developer founded in 2003 as 5th Cell Media, LLC. led by Jeremiah Slaczka and Marius Falhbusch. The company is most well known for creating the Drawn to Life and Scribblenauts series.
Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wilson, five executives who had been involved with Gathering of Developers and Gamecock Media Group, which published games on developer-friendly terms, but due to the high cost associated with releasing retail games saw themselves acquired and dissolved by larger companies. To avoid this, Devolver Digital instead turned to digital distribution channels.
Gamer Network Limited is a British digital media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other video game businesses. Its flagship website, Eurogamer, was launched alongside the company. It began hosting video game trade show EGX in 2008. In 2018, it was acquired by ReedPop, a division of RELX.
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.
Battalion 1944 is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Bulkhead Interactive and published by Square Enix Collective and released for Windows. The game was announced via a Kickstarter campaign in February 2016, and released on 23 May 2019. The game is set during World War II and runs on Unreal Engine 4. Bulkhead is a collaborative effort between companies Deco Digital and Bevel Studios. Versions for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were also announced but never released.
The Turing Test is a first-person puzzle video game developed by Bulkhead Interactive and published by Square Enix Collective. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One in August 2016, for PlayStation 4 in January 2017, for Nintendo Switch in February 2020, and for Stadia in May 2020.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an action role-playing sandbox game developed by Square Enix and Omega Force, with Square Enix publishing it. It is the sequel to Dragon Quest Builders, and was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2018 and worldwide in July 2019, for Windows in December 2019, and for the Xbox One in May 2021. The game shipped over a million copies by August 2019 and received generally favorable reviews from critics.
Hue is a 2016 puzzle-platform game developed by Fiddlesticks and published by Curve Digital. The game was released on August 30, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One; on November 29, 2016, for the PlayStation Vita; and on June 6, 2019, for Nintendo Switch. There were further releases for iOS on January 25, 2020 and Android on April 22, 2020.
Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer and subsidiary of Square Enix, a company known for its work in the role-playing genre. The company was founded in 2014 under the name "Tokyo Dream Factory" by Yosuke Matsuda, who became president of Square Enix in 2013. As of 2019, it has released three titles to varying degrees of critical and commercial success: I Am Setsuna, Lost Sphear and Oninaki, each themed after a component of the Japanese concept of setsugekka. A fourth project is in the planning phase as of 2019.
Forgotton Anne is an adventure-platform game developed by ThroughLine Games and published by Square Enix Collective. The game uses a hand-drawn anime aesthetic style and an orchestral score performed by the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra and was released on May 15, 2018 on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. The game was released for macOS on June 21, 2018, Nintendo Switch on November 9, 2018, iOS on June 26, 2019, and Android on December 18, 2019.