Update: I just wrote the whole story below, and then Square Enix officially killed that rumour:
Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix. However, this report is not based on any announcement by SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
We do not consider selling off the company or any part of its businesses, nor have we received any offer from any third party to acquire the company or any part of its businesses
Original story follows below, which I thought had some pretty funny bits in it.
According to a new report by Bloomberg Japan, Square Enix or Sammy Ericks as its known to its mum, might be up for sale. Before you start shoving industrial-grade pins into a voodoo doll of Xboss Phil Spencer in a vain attempt to avoid hearing that Final Fantasy 17 will be an Xbox exclusive, chill for a second.
As per the report, the news comes from from bankers who are apparently “familiar with the matter,” but details are a combination of sketchy and scant right now. The report doesn’t indicate if the interest shown is in Square Enix’s entire business, it’s video game portfolio, or its entertainment offerings either.
The other thing to consider is that companies such as Square Enix are often approached by potential buyers, with talks popping up now and then. It doesn’t mean that anything will happen, and quite often doesn’t. This is the equivalent of Jenova’s Witnesses ricking up at your doorstep, wanting to find out if you’d like to be one with life-force of the planet.
Believe it or not, companies can change their minds at the eleventh hour. Just look at The Medium developer Bloober Team, which was in acquisition talks and then decided “nah fam”, backing out entirely. If a proper buy and sell deal is on the table though, it won’t be the first one that we’ve seen lately. Microsoft’s purchase of Zenimax and by proxy Bethesda got the ball rolling on super-mergers within the gaming space, while EA also dipped into its war chest to acquire racing game legends Codemasters.
Grabbing Square Enix would require navigating through some nightmarish levels of red tape and bueracracy, but it would be a hell of a deal that would come packaged with some huge gaming IPs alone. Like Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and…Balan Wonderworld.
Last Updated: April 16, 2021
