Square Enix Sold Western Studios for Sony Acquisition?

It seems like Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal as Sony was only interested in Square Enix Japan.

Back in May, a rumor started circulating that Sony Interactive Entertainment could acquire Square Enix. Around same time, we also got the news that Square Enix has sold its western studios to Embracer Group.

Now, according to Eidos Montreal found Stephane D’Astous, the western studios of Square Enix could have been a “garage sale” as reportedly, Sony only was interested in acquiring Square Enix Japan. In his words:

It’s a train that is slowing down and needs some injection of energy or money or something, but the train is slowing down,” says D’Astous. “And it’s unfortunate because there are a lot of good people in those studios. If I read between the lines, Square Enix Japan was not as committed as we hoped initially. And there are rumours, obviously, that with all these activities of mergers and acquisitions, that Sony would really like to have Square Enix within their wheelhouse. I heard rumours that Sony said they’re really interested in Square Enix Tokyo, but not the rest. So, I think [Square Enix CEO Yosuke] Matsuda-san put it like a garage sale.

So now we know that sale of Eidos Montreal and Cyrstal Dynamics and rumor of Sony acquiring Square Enix are linked. It seems like Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda sold the western studios so that Sony can acquire Square Enix smoothly. Western studios were a financial burden for Square Enix anyway so apparently, they decided to cut them loose.

So as rumored before, Sony Interactive Entertainment could still acquire Square Enix. For now, none of this has been confirmed officially so keep your hopes in check. Embracer group on the other hand sees great potential in the famous IPs they have acquired including Tomb Raider, Thief and Deux Ex. Eidos Montreal already have an “unannounced project” in the works which we are expecting to be a new Deus Ex game.

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Ali is a passionate RPG gamer. He believes that western RPGs still have a lot to learn from JRPGs. He is editor-in-chief at SegmentNext.com but that doesn't stop him from writing about his favorite video ...