Square Enix

Square Enix is a Japanese entertainment company best known for role-playing games, publishing, and related media. Its modern identity began in 2003, when Square Co., Ltd. merged with Enix Corporation. Square had developed the Final Fantasy series, while Enix had published Dragon Quest, creating a company that combined two of Japan’s most influential role-playing-game properties. Square’s history began as a computer-game division of Den-Yu-Sha in 1983. Its early success came from Final Fantasy, released in Japan in 1987 for Nintendo’s Family Computer. The game’s commercial performance saved the struggling company and established a franchise built around recurring themes, dramatic stories, and new settings rather than a single continuous narrative. Later entries expanded the series through influential titles such as Final Fantasy VII, which brought the franchise to the original PlayStation in 1997, and Final Fantasy XIV, an online game that was relaunched in 2013 as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn after the original version was replaced. Enix was founded in 1975 and became especially important through Dragon Quest, created by Yuji Horii, with character designs by Akira Toriyama and music by Koichi Sugiyama. The first Dragon Quest appeared in Japan in 1986. Square Enix continues to publish the series, including Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, released internationally in 2018. The company’s catalog extends beyond those flagship franchises. It owns or publishes Kingdom Hearts, developed in collaboration with Disney and featuring characters from Disney films alongside Square Enix characters. The series began with Kingdom Hearts for PlayStation 2 in 2002. Other notable properties include NieR, Octopath Traveler, The World Ends with You, and the critically acclaimed tactical role-playing series Tactics Ogre. Square Enix also acquired British publisher Eidos Interactive in 2009, bringing franchises such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Hitman into its corporate portfolio. In 2022, Embracer Group announced an agreement to acquire several former Square Enix Europe studios and properties, including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix’s Western intellectual properties. Beyond games, Square Enix produces manga through its publications, including Monthly Shonen Gangan, and supports adaptations, merchandise, music, and film projects. The company’s business therefore spans development, publishing, digital distribution, and cross-media exploitation. Its distinctive contribution to entertainment lies in connecting large-scale Japanese role-playing traditions with global franchises, online services, manga publishing, and international game development.