Buying Square Enix

Update: Publisher Square Enix has now put out a statement reading: "Bloomberg has reported today that there is interest from several buyers to acquire Square Enix. However, this report is not based on any announcement by SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. We do not consider selling off the company or any part of its businesses, nor have we received any offer from any third party to acquire the company or any part of its businesses."



Original story: Ever since early reports came flooding in about Microsoft buying up Bethesda (which, of course, turned out to be entirely accurate), there's been no shortage of rumours surrounding additional acquisitions of video game companies. However, up until now, none of this speculation has held any real weight.

There's a new rumour on the block, though, and it comes from a reputable source in Bloomberg Japan. According to a newly published report, multiple parties are interested in scooping up Japanese publisher Square Enix. However, said report is fairly light on details — we don't know whether this is referring to Square Enix as a whole, Square Enix's video game business, or Square Enix's wider entertainment business.

As such, we wouldn't jump to any conclusions yet — but that warning won't stop people from sparking some rampant speculation online. After all, Microsoft's aforementioned $7.4 billion acquisition of Bethesda makes it feel as though anything is possible — although it's assumed that buying Square Enix would be a lot more expensive.

Of course, it's hard not to also think about Sony's situation at this point in time. The PlayStation maker clearly has a close-knit relationship with Square Enix right now, with the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (June), Final Fantasy XVI (TBA), and Forspoken (2022), all pinned as PS5 console exclusives. But then, Bethesda had made deals with Sony over Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo, hadn't it?

But again, we wouldn't read too much into this report just yet. Massive corporations are always weighing up their options, but that doesn't necessarily mean that anything will actually happen. If more information starts to trickle out in the near future, we'll be sure to keep you updated.

[source bloomberg.co.jp, via nintendolife.com]