Square Enix – the developer behind JRPG giants like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest – is now working with a major metaverse investment firm on its own crypto-based game.
Square Enix Meets Animoca Brands
On Monday, the company announced that it had signed a collaboration agreement with Animoca Brands to strengthen marketing efforts for “Symbiogenesis,” the game and its associated collection of 10,000 Ethereum NFTs.
Per a press release, Animoca Brands Japan said it would support the game with expertise on how to expand its Japanese products overseas, NFT sales, and by promoting collaboration with Animoca’s existing portfolio companies.
“Animoca Brands Japan is pleased to be working with SQUARE ENIX, an entertainment company that provides world-class content and IP that Japan can be proud of,” said Kensuke Amo, COO of Animoca Brands Japan.
Symbiogenesis is a PC narrative adventure game based in a “devastated high fantasy world” in which players roleplay as their Ethereum NFT avatars. Players can also interact with other in-game NFT minted on Polygon, a leading Ethereum scaling network. An NFT is necessary to access the Symbiogenesis game and world.
The game takes place on a ‘floating continent” on a future polluted version of Earth where humans fight to survive the attacks of a fantastical dragon. It will be featured in Animoca Brands Japan’s upcoming NFT launchpad, which is expected to go live this summer with Ethereum and Polygon support.
【Chapter2 Story teaser公開！ 04.アカネと武国の牢獄】明日、2章キャラクター情報公開予定！
……起きたのね。まあ、あのまま……アンタに死なれちゃ目覚め悪いし。
You’re up, huh.And, well… I’d look terrible if you died.#SYMBIOGENESIS pic.twitter.com/3rKVdbs7Z9— SYMBIOGENESIS -NFT Art＆Game Project- | SQUARE ENIX (@symbiogenesisPR) April 22, 2024
Square Enix Loves Crypto
This isn’t the first time Square Enix and Animoca have joined forces: Dating back to 2020, Square Enix led an investment round in the popular Animoca-owned NFT game “The Sandbox”, which later featured characters and assets from its Dungeon Siege game in Sandbox’s game-making tools.
Square Enix also launched Final Fantasy VII-based NFTs on Polygon in 2022, and invested in Bitcoin gaming and payment platform Zebedee with $35 million that same year.
Last month, Square Enix announced separate investments in crypto-native PC launcher apps Hyperplay and Elixer Games, releasing Symbiogenesis via the former.
“We are very excited about this initiative and look forward to working with Animoca Brands Japan to bring the Web3 experience to a wider audience in an even more strategic way,” said Symbiogenesis Producer Naoyuki Tamate on the partnership with Animoca.
A DappRadar report last month found that blockchain games accounted for 34% of on-chain activity last year.
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