Square Enix is actively exploring its options surrounding subscription-based game libraries, an internal conversation that may see the company launching its own service alongside current mainstays like Xbox Game Pass and EA Access.
In a conversation with GamesIndustry at E3 this week, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda said that the company is considering either launching its own subscription-based game library or increasing its presence on other services. “But at the end of the day, the direction that we're thinking about is having a channel of our own," says Matsuda.
Matsuda tells GamesIndustry that a number of Square Enix games are currently offered through subscription services like Xbox Game Pass, but that he believes Square Enix will eventually need to offer a similar service of its own.
“At the same time that would require significant preparations and investment. We'd also have to consider whether or not it will work well solely including our own catalog titles,” said Matsuda. “But eventually I do think that we need to get to the point where we have enough insight that we can build our own service."
It's a conversation that many major game companies are likely having at this point in time, especially as cloud-based platforms like Google Stadia start to welcome support for publishers' own subscriptions. Ubisoft's E3 press conference, for instance, saw the company announce Uplay+, a subscription-based game library due out for PC this year and Google Stadia in 2020.