Square Enix has announced a strategic partnership with the Web3 platform Elixir, aimed at promoting blockchain games to traditional gaming audiences. Square Enix has shown a keen interest in NFT adoption, and recently unveiled its NFT-focused game, Symbiogenesis. However, NFTs have yet to capture the interest of most gamers, which could present a challenge for the company. The partnership with Elixir is expected to help drive the adoption of blockchain games that use NFTs, leveraging the platform’s previous partnership with Epic Games to allow more Web3 games on the store.
“This partnership with Elixir Games represents yet another step for Square Enix to explore the promise of web3- decentralized gaming.” – Hideaki Uehara, Business Development Director at Square Enix
Square Enix has been actively pushing NFTs since the beginning of the year, with former president Yosuke Matsuda stating that the company was looking to invest aggressively in the technology. While most gamers seem disinterested in NFTs, the Final Fantasy 7 NFT cards, which were released last month, seem to be just the beginning of Square Enix’s plans to push these products forward.
The new partnership with Elixir will help to promote blockchain games that use NFTs to traditional gamers who are already hooked on Square Enix’s other projects. This is a strategic move by the company, given that Symbiogenesis will be an NFT-focused game that uses blockchain technology. Square Enix will face a challenge in capturing gamers’ interest, given the limited success of NFT-based Web3 games so far.
This partnership brings us closer to web3 gaming mass adoption. Our team is incredibly excited to bring our technology to work, and we foresee Elixir users playing web2 and web3 games alike without distinction. 2023 has already seen more industry leaders enter the space with impactful projects, and we anticipate to see more as the year progresses. We’ve put all efforts to ensure we are ready for scalability. – Carlos Roldan, CEO of Elixir Games
The press release announces that Elixir Games, a leading web3 gaming distribution platform, has formed a strategic partnership with video game giant Square Enix to drive visibility and adoption of web3 games among traditional gamers. The partnership will allow millions of gamers to explore quality web3 games through a platform that offers a simple, seamless experience to the traditional gamer. Elixir has been the leading PC game distributor for the open web3 space since 2021 and, following a recent integration with Epic Games, has become the leading distribution platform for web2 and web3 desktop titles. The partnership with Elixir allows Square Enix to continue being at the forefront of global publishers adopting web3 gaming, having previously invested in and partnered with key companies in the space. Square Enix and Sino Global Capital co-led Elixir Games’ last fundraising seed round in December 2022.
Sony, another gaming company, is also exploring NFTs and has filed a patent for cross-platform NFTs that could be used to manage and monetize digital assets over different games and platforms. The company has described a system that could tie NFTs to in-game achievements, but it remains to be seen whether Sony’s project will come to fruition.