Square Enix Expands Into The NFT Gaming Space With Symbiogenesis On HyperPlay

Gaming giant Square Enix is a well-known publisher of hit games like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. The studio recently revealed that it has financed HyperPlay, a blockchain-based game launcher. Square Enix also plans to introduce its Symbiogenesis game to the store. However,  HyperPlay did not reveal the amount of the funding.

Symbiogenesis Utilizes Ethereum NFTs For Its Characters And Assets

However, the anonymous founder JacobC.eth stated that he believes the Japanese producer is the most innovative among all the top game studios. He added that the publisher has constantly been at the frontline of innovation.

Square Enix has been actively involved in the blockchain ecosystem for some time now. In 2020, the company invested in The Sandbox, a Virtual world gaming platform. The studio tested NFT stickers in Japan and then with NFTs associated with high-quality Final Fantasy VII physical toys. The experiment ended with the launch of Symbiogenesis in 2024.

Initially introduced ending of last year, Symbiogenesis is a Story-driven role-playing game created around characters developed as Ethereum NFTs. The game features several tokenized in-game assets created on Polygon. As part of the partnership with Square Enix, Symbiogenesis will work together with HyperPlay, along with others mentioned in the announcement

Hyperplay Seeks To Revolutionize Game Distribution And Benefit Developer

JacobC, who formally serves as operations lead at Ethereum wallet MetaMask, informed Decrypt about the reasons for the inadequate support for the blockchain games.

He highlighted that the lack of support for blockchain games from various traditional gaming platforms and marketplaces was due to policies that clash with composable smart contracts with Web3. Along with problems the involves all kinds of innovative development occurring in the space.

He mentions that the partnership with Square Enix came from an interest in exploring alternative distribution options. To move away from monopolistic platforms that may not prioritize the interest of developers or players.

The General Manager of the Investment & Business Development Department of Square Enix, Hideaki Uehara, expressed excitement about partnering and investing with HyperPlay. He highlighted that the HyperPlay team has established an exceptional product for improving game distribution and establishing a new business model that offers benefits for developers.

In June last year, HyperPlay secured a $12 million Series A round of funding. The platform is currently featuring over 70 blockchain games and also accumulates titles from the Epic Games Store and GOG.com.