Square Enix has invested in a Danish indie studio to accelerate development of its forthcoming ARPG, as the Japanese company continues to look to the west for another publishing hit.
Back in 2022, Square Enix sold off its large western studios and over 50 intellectual properties to Embracer for $300m, including the likes of Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal. It later stated this decision was “driven by concerns that the titles cannibalised sales of the rest of the group”.
As such, Square Enix has most recently focused on its Japanese games (namely Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts), but by its own admission, the Final Fantasy games especially have underperformed.
But western publishing has still continued at Square Enix. Publishing indie hit PowerWash Simulator through its Square Enix Collective has been a huge success for the company. That’s alongside publishing Life is Strange Double Exposure last year for US studio Deck Nine Games, following previous games in the series.
It seems that western investment is set to continue. At Summer Game Fest this year, Square Enix revealed its new online multiplayer game Killer Inn, which it’s publishing for Canadian studio Tactic Studios.
Now it’s investing in Danish studio BetaDwarf to assist with development of its Vaultbreakers ARPG, which was first announced at the start of the year.
“Square Enix is always looking for high-quality games and talented development studios,” said Hideaki Uehara, Square Enix general manager of business development. “When I played Vaultbreakers, I was genuinely excited by the experience of connecting with other players and exploring its rich game world.
“After visiting BetaDwarf and learning about the team’s mission and passion, we decided to invest in them to help realise their dream and bring this game to players around the world.”
BetaDwarf CEO and game director Steffen Kabbelgaard noted the “amazing access to a combination of knowledge, talent, and resources” thanks to this partnership.
“We are already very far with our dream game Vaultbreakers: we have a huge amazing community, and we have already run 15+ tests with more than 50,000 players who constantly enable us to refine,” added Kabbelgaard. “So getting this additional support feels amazing when we are far into production already. I can really see how this enables a home run vs having just started on an uncertain journey – yeah, I’m just really excited about our situation!”
Vaultbreakers is a Diablo-esque top-down ARPG set in a colourful fantasy world. It will be playable solo or in multiplayer in both PvE and PvPvE modes.
A beta test is currently taking place, though there’s no firm release date yet.
Square Enix’s next Final Fantasy game will be its long-rumoured Final Fantasy Tactics remaster, The Ivalice Chronicles. It’s set for release on 30th September across PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Steam).