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Media, Internet, Gaming

Square Enix Licenses Gamebryo Engine


 

Not entirely content with its own in-house tools, Japanese video game giant Square Enix announced today that it will license Emergent Game Technologies’ Gamebryo Engine for an upcoming game.

 

The engine has been used to develop a wide range of games, including Bully: Scholarship Edition, Fallout 3, and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

 

Square Enix has previously stated its intention to expand into the western market, though it harbors the odd belief that utilizing western development tools will make the company’s games more popular in North America and Europe.

 

The developer and publisher previously utilized Unreal Engine 3 to create The Last Remnant. The game marked the first time Square Enix licensed outside technology to create a game. However, the company’s inexperience with the engine was reflected in the mixed review scores, with The Last Remnant averaging 65 out of 100 on Metacritic.

 

While it’s fine that the company is trying other technologies, Square Enix needs to learn that breaking into the western market has nothing to do with the game engine, but rather with game design.

 

The tried-and-true Japanese role playing game genre has become tired after years of what is essentially the same game being churned out, and many gamers outside of Japan want to play something more original and interesting.