Square Enix stoked the slow-rolling dumpster fire that is Web3 by announcing a NFT version of a physical Cloud Strife action figure from hit video game Final Fantasy VII and its subsequent Compilation, Remake, and Rebirth. This, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original 1997 title. The figure is scheduled for release in November 2023 on the official Square Enix Store. The game it’s based on, a tale of capitalistic excess leading to an ecological epoch no doubt seems like prime material to leverage for some quick fake money, assuring investors that you are absolutely, definitely down with the hip new internet thing in exchange for hollowing-out any creative integrity that went into your most renowned title. While the normal action figure costs $129.99, the “Digital Plus Edition” will run you an extra $30, but you’ll get a fancy digital “certificate of authenticity” from Enjin owned by a third-party called Efinity Network, a decentralized “cross-chain blockchain network” that’s aiming to make NFTs more palatable to gamers. You’ll need a Square Enix account and a Enjin wallet app, also not operated by Square Enix, and the ability to deal with more red flags than Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. What happens to your certificate

Marking the end of an era, Shinji Hashimoto, producer and brand manger for many Final Fantasy titles, and infamous for kicking off the Kingdom Hearts series with an elevator pitch to Disney Japan executives, has announced his retirement from Square Enix today. Posting on his twitter account, Hashimoto shared he's leaving due to "entering retirement age." Reflecting on his career and the many roles he's had at the company, from here on "I'd like to support Square Enix as a fan. Thank you very much." Hashimoto first joined Square after leaving Bandai in 1995 and his first large project was a publicity producer on the original Final Fantasy VII, a title that would launch then Squaresoft (and the Japanese roleplaying game genre) to ever greater heights. Afterward, Hashimoto could be found on every major offline numbered title up through Final Fantasy XV, as well as a bucketful of spinoffs like Dissidia Final Fantasy and The World Ends with You and feature films like Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. Of course, he's left quite the mark on Kingdom Hearts franchise as well, for not only coming up with the original collaboration, but seating Final Fantasy series character designer Tetsuya Nomura in the director's chair

Square Enix has filed a series of new trademarks in Japan as of May 12. Those include Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Labyrinth Striker and Final Bar Line. With the season for game announcements about to heat up, it's possible we're looking at some possible additions to their line up. Specifically, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade feels obvious in the face of recent news confirming information on FFVII's anniversary due early next month despite the game with that name being already available on PS5 and PC. As for the other two, Labyrinth Striker might be something completely new while Final Bar Line, in which a bar line is a vertical line used in a musical score to mark division between bars, might indicate some sort of music or rhythm game.

Breaking overnight, Square Enix have entered into an agreement to sell Eidos Montréal, Square Enix Montréal and Crystal Dynamics to Embracer Group in a $300 million dollar deal that includes IP like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain. Embracer Group is a conglomerate of many game studios, most notably Gearbox Software, THQ Nordic, and others. Embracer expects the transaction to be approved by the pertinent regulatory bodies and completed by July to September of this year. In a statement today, the stated reason for the sale will "assist in adapting to changes underway win the global business environment by establishing a more efficient allocation of resources." It's also stated that the deal will help the company "move forward with investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud" and to realign their other overseas publishers under the Japanese branch, such as Square Enix External Studios, Square Enix Collective, and will continue to publish franchises related to Just Cause, Outriders, and Life is Strange. Eidos Montréal has 500 employees across Canada and China, Square Enix Montréal includes 150 employees in Canda and the UK, and Crystal Dynamics has 300 employees across the United States including the new Crystal Northwest

Today, Square Enix launched a new website centered around the Final Fantasy series' 35th anniversary that aims to "bring you many exciting new ways to enjoy the worlds of Final Fantasy" and to "please look forward to what Final Fantasy has in store. The site features the logos upcoming Chocobo GP racing game and Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin, both set to release this month, with "more" yet to be added. In what will be a series of messages from prominent Final Fantasy series developers, long-time Square Enix alum Yoshinori Kitase, who most recently served as producer of Final Fantasy VII Remake, noted that this year also marks Final Fantasy V's 30th anniversary, as well as Final Fantasy VII's 25th, and Final Fantasy XI's 20th. He notes that in a long-running series, the anniversaries lining up in one year seems pretty unusual. He thanks fans for their support, and that they will continue to work hard making each Final Fantasy game one "that you will remember for a long time to come." Also, Square Enix Music launched a YouTube channel that will service as a hub for their many soundtracks, concerts, interviews, Lo-Fi beats you can grind your relic to, and

Square Enix president and representative director Yosuke Matsuda released a New Years letter in which he states that blockchain and NFTs will be a "major strategic theme for us in 2022." NFTs and blockchain technology have been widely criticized for a variety of reasons, chief among them are the vast amounts of energy they consume, a spiral downward into further commodification of art, and the implicit sanctioning of art theft. Even the implementation of this technology in games is suspect, as a market for buying and selling decentralized assets with no oversight has extremely risky outcomes, as well as the concept of digital ownership of a token running off of infrastructure you don't own. What happens if the entity responsible for that infrastructure shuts down? Game developers themselves, outside a company's management class, are also soggy on the whole idea. Matsuda's letter is very much pointed at Square Enix's shareholders rather than the general public, which may lead some to speculate that this is largely to show that the company isn't eschewing a potential new line of considerable profit. However, he excitedly continues to share how the company is moving forward into implementing this technology in games: "It is blockchain-based tokens that will enable

Square Enix has revealed its latest studio, Square Enix London Mobile today, in a venture to publish high-quality free-to-play mobile games. The studio has two titles currently in development based on Tomb Raider and Avatar: The Last Airbender. They're currently in the middle of recruitment efforts in order to bring these titles and future games to players worldwide. “At Square Enix London Mobile, our goal is to move the world through play and in order to do this, we need to grow our team with even more unique voices, varieties of perspectives and creative energy,” said Ed Perkins, Studio Head at Square Enix London Mobile “We have great games in development, access to Square Enix-owned IP and relationships with the world’s top entertainment companies, but our people will be the competitive advantage that fuels our success now and in the future.” Square Enix London Mobile is also working on the previously revealed Tomb Raider: Reloaded for mobile platforms. Developed with Crystal Dynamics, the game will feature classic series elements in an action-arcade style adventure. It's expected to launch in 2022. More information on Square Enix London Mobile can be found on the official company website here.

Square Enix has revealed the time and date for their announcement showcase headlining E3 this year. This Summer edition of Square Enix Presents will air on June 13 at 12:15 Pacific time as a Keynote during the all-digital E3 2021 event, as well as on Square Enix’s official Twitch and YouTube channels. The stream is slated to last around 40 minutes and will include news and updates on the following: World premiere of a new game from Eidos-MontrealAn update on Babylon's FallDetails on Marvel's Avengers: Black Panther - War for Wakanda and upcoming in-game events.Deep dive on Life is Strange: True Colors and first look at Life is Strange: Remastered Collection.

In a statement released today, Square Enix will be combining the Visual Works and Image Arts divisions into a single entity now known as "Square Enix Image Studio Division." Their new website can be found here. Visual Works is best known for providing many of the CG cutscenes and trailers that accompany Square Enix titles. Image Arts brings along staff who worked on Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV film but largely engage in research and development into "high-end visual expression with a focus on real-time graphics." Takeshi Nozue, who worked on many cinematics in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series, has been tapped to head this new division within Square Enix. One of its core goals is to expedite development of new technology: "By fusing the technologies and attributes of the two divisions into the SQUARE ENIX Image Studio Division, the Company aims to become faster at its research and development efforts into next-generation visual expression and at incorporating the results of those efforts into actual content. It thereby hopes to provide its customers with an even higher quality of experience." Visual Works was established in 1997, led by Kazuyuki Ikumori, which developed the CG cutscenes integrated into Final Fantasy VII.

For those looking to get in on some gaming deals this week, Square Enix has discounted several games in their mobile catalogue through March 29. Here's the rundown on the discounted titles: Final Fantasy III - $6.99Final Fantasy III for iPad - $7.99Final Fantasy IV - $6.99Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions - $6.99 on App Store and $5.99 on Google PlayFinal Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions on iPad - $7.99Chrono Trigger (Upgrade Version) - $4.99Adventures of Mana - $6.99Secrets of Mana - $3.99Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth - $8.99 All titles are available on their respective stores - App Store, Google Play and Amazon Appstore. Final Fantasy Tactics, Valkyrie Profile and Secrets of Mana are currently unavailable on Amazon Appstore.