Square Enix declared that as of 1 May, its subsidiary Luminous Productions would formally rejoin Square Enix.
The merger is part of the company’s efforts to further bolster the competitive prowess of the Group’s development studios, a goal set forth under its current medium-term business strategy. Square Enix has developed numerous AAA high-definition (HD) games and possesses a wealth of intellectual property (IP) and content. Luminous Productions is meanwhile equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.
Square Enix is undoubtedly alluding to the Luminous Engine, which drives both of the studio’s games that have been made available: Final Fantasy XV and Forspoken. The Final Fantasy XV development team, formerly known as Square Enix’s Business Division 2, underwent a reorganisation and brand refresh in 2018 to become the external business with the present name.
Forspoken, a new IP introduced by Luminous Studios last month, is unlikely to perform as well as FFXV, which got strong critical praise and eventually sold well (over ten million units as of May 2022). Although Square Enix withheld sales information, they will be required to comment when the next earnings report is available. However, preliminary data from the NPD indicates that the game only achieved a ranking of #7 in the United States. Even though the game was only available for one week in January, most sales nevertheless took place during that month.
For its part, Luminous Productions responded to the announcement of the merger by stressing that the company is still committed to enhancing Forspoken and that a performance upgrade and prequel content are on the way.
When a player uses the fantastic magic parkour to soar around the fantastical land of Athia and blast adversaries with overwhelmingly cool spells, Forspoken excels as a thrilling action game. The game’s content, RPG systems, and visuals are not as impressive as they were portrayed to be. As a result, Forspoken’s potential is now mostly untapped. It’s still a fun adventure for aficionados of the genre, but it’s best to hold out until it’s cheaper or available through one of the various subscription programmes.
For its part, Luminous Productions responded to the announcement of the merger by stressing that the company is still concentrating on enhancing Forspoken and that the release of the prequel DLC, In Tanta We Trust, and the performance upgrade are still scheduled for this summer. Being a member of the Square Enix family, the developer also “looks forward to continue to create new entertainment and experiences.”
In other developments, acclaimed author Gary Whitta recently disclosed that Square Enix made many changes to the Forspoken story he had originally envisioned.
