Square Enix planning to ramp up use of “AI and other cutting-edge technologies”

Square Enix’s president, Takashi Kiryu, has expressed the company’s intention to be “aggressive” in their application of “AI and other cutting-edge technologies.”

Square Enix have long been on the forefront of emerging new technologies, in fact the merger that created Square Enix happened in part to stave off bankruptcy after SquareSoft spent big on the CG technology that enabled the animation of Final Fantasy: The Spirit’s Within.

So, it doesn’t come as a surprise to hear Square Enix is intending to pursue the possibilities of generative AI in its game development process.

In the company’s New Year Letter, the president, Takashi Kiryu, discusses his own thoughts on the possibilities of AI “to fundamentally change the processes by which we create.”

He also outlines the company’s intentions with regards to the technology in the future. In the short term, Kiryu says the technology will help “achieve greater sophistication in our marketing efforts,” while long term plans involve finding ways to “leverage” AI to “create new forms of content…”

The company has already made use of AI in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, utilizing a program which predicts character facial expressions based on the delivered dialogue.

Generative AI has been something of a contentious topic since the launch of applications like ChatGPT and MidJourney, and Square Enix have run into hot water from fans before for embracing controversial new technologies.

In 2022, the company unveiled its plans to create and sell NFTs to community backlash.

Kiryu’s letter listed “blockchain entertainment/Web 3.0, AI, and the cloud,” as its three key areas of investment, but exactly how Square Enix plan to further incorporate AI into their development process remains to be seen.

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