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 NFT game.
On Monday, the company announced 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.
Square Enix Meets Animoca Brands
Animoca Brands Japan said it would support the game with expertise in expanding its Japanese products overseas, NFT sales, and 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 Senhor, 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 NFTs minted on the leading Ethereum scaling network Polygon. An NFT is necessary to access the Symbiogenesis game.
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. In 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 $35 million in Bitcoin gaming and payment platform Zebedee that same year.
Last month, Square Enix announced separate investments in crypto-native PC launcher apps Hyperplay and Elixer Games.
“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.