In unsurprising news, publisher Square Enix has announced a bold new vision for the company in 2024, again promising to chase whatever the hottest speculative technology on the market happens to be. President Takashi Kiryu rang in the new year with a bold directive, confirming the firm will be "aggressive in applying AI and other cutting-edge technologies to both our content development and our publishing functions".
No firm timeline was given, but Kiryu says that the short-term goal is to "enhance our development productivity and achieve greater sophistication in our marketing efforts" using the tech, so make sure to count Cloud's fingers next time we see official Final Fantasy VII Rebirth artwork. Previously, Square Enix made big bets on blockchain entertainment/Web 3.0, and the cloud.
It's on a longer timeline where things become potentially more troubling, as Kiryu (perhaps channelling some Rufus Shinra energy) explains the plan: To "leverage those technologies to create new forms of content for consumers, as we believe that technological innovation represents business opportunities."
This shouldn't surprise anyone, and 2024 is poised to become the year AI takes off in games. The recent surprise hit The Finals initially turned heads when it was revealed that the controversial technology would replace paid voice actors, but that stance certainly didn't stop the game from drawing in the masses.