What are Square-Enix working on... A look at their studios
Last year saw Square Enix begin their three year transformation, a big part of it was dropping solo platform titles and instead working on bringing games to multiple platforms. Now the goal was what they considered their HD titles, things like mainline Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, but I am sure others like SaGa and Kingdom Hearts also count.
As you can see from the list below, there were a number of games released from a few of those HD series below, but those are what they are considering SD series. Think of it this way, Dragon Quest 12 that is HD, Dragon Quest Builder 3, that is SD. What that means is that occasionally you will see a game come to only a few platforms at a time, rather than all at once.
Speaking of games from last year, these are the games that were published in 2025, with those titles that are bolded being original releases:
Dragon Quest X Offline - Android, iOS - Japan Only
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - PC
SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Android, iOS
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster - Nintendo Switch 2
Final Fantasy XVI - Xbox Series X|S
Groove Coaster: Future Performers - Nintendo Switch - Japan Only
Final Fantasy XIV Mobile - Android, iOS - China Only
Operation Night Strikers - Nintendo Switch, PC
Triangle Strategy - PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
QQQbeats!!! - Nintendo Switch
Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Bubble Bobble Sugar Dungeons - Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 5
Octopath Traveler 0 - Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Sadly, while there were no studio closures last year, they did let go of a large number of folks from their International operations, all apart of their stream lining their operations and reducing costs.
If you are curious to see how we did in years past, you can find our 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 Previews here.
Creative Studio 1
Formally Creative Business Unit 1
Known for: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Kingdom Hearts | Last game released: SaGa Frontier 2: Remastered
Last year was a fairly quiet year for the group, they did help with the release of SaGa Frontier 2: Remastered, but that was lead by another group. The studio did announce that Final Fantasy VII Remake was coming to Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S, and while planned for 2025 they slipped to this month. They did also confirm that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is also coming to those platforms. But beyond that, they have been quiet, now we do know that they are working on the third chapter of the Final Fantasy VII trilogy, but that can’t be all, right?
Now I did find a job for a level designer/action planner, which does fit the mould of both Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts and I would have to imagine that the new role is for Kingdom Hearts 4, which we have not seen a lot of since its April 2022 reveal. In fact apart from the screens we got last year, we have not seen the game since its reveal. If I were a betting man, I would think that this year we see Final Fantasy VII Rebirth revealed for Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S around May, with a release in October and when that is released, they drop a new trailer for the third chapter, showing a 2027 release. Of course, it is always possible that they have a collection or remaster in the works as well, but only time will tell for those. As for Kingdom Hearts 4, I have no idea what is going on with that release and outside of Switch 2 getting the other games, I don’t think there will be any hearts won this year by that series.
Creative Studio 2
Formally Creative Business Unit 2
Known for: SaGa series | Last game released: SaGa Frontier 2: Remastered
Last year was a busy and yet quiet year for this group, in 2024 they shipped Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven onto a few platforms, but then brought it to Nintendo Switch 2 around the middle of 2025. March saw this group also bring SaGa Frontier 2: Remastered to players, well I should say they oversaw it, as the bulk of the development work was done by Bullets.
The SaGa series has seen quite a number of releases over the past few years, many of them remasters of older games, in fact the only mainline entry that is not on Switch or other modern platforms, as all others are, is Unlimited Saga. Do I think the group have any plans to change that in 2026, unlikely. It has been a few years since a Star Ocean game released and while those are developed by tri-ace, Square Enix publish them and Yoshinori Kitase, who leads this group, has been credited on past releases from that series. This is the one group I really have no clue what they could be working on.
Creative Studio 3
Formally Creative Business Unit 3
Known for: Final Fantasy MMOs, Dragon Quest Builders | Last game released: Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
2025 saw Final Fantasy XIV Online get a few big patches, Seekers of Eternity, The Promise of Tomorrow and Into the Mist. Not to mention collaborations with games like Monster Hunter Wilds and Fall Guys? Final Fantasy XI Online is still going and at one point in August last year, the game had to stop welcoming new players, as the servers could just not handle all new players wanting to join, not bad for a 23 year old game. It also got updates and smaller content updates across the year as well. Leaving the world of MMOs, the group also saw Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles get a second remastering last year and players seemed to be on board for that.
So what about this year? Well I suspect that major Final Fantasy XVI Online news will come at the first Final Fantasy Festival out of the USA in April. Of course, with another in Berlin in July and then a final one in Japan in Oct/Nov, more news from each is highly likely. Final Fantasy XI Online will keep on doing its thing, with events and updates across the year, though I suspect we might get some teases for a major update in 2027, as the game approaches 25 years. Taking things offline, I would like to think the group will create a new Dragon Quest Builders game, but I always want that. Beyond the two MMOs though, I don’t expect much from this group in 2026.
Creative Studio 4
Formally Creative Business Unit 4
Known for: X | Last game released: Octopath Traveler 0
This is the group that takes care of the mobile games for Square Enix, as such in 2025 their only mobile release was SaGa Frontier 2. Of course, they did keep updates coming for many of their existing titles like Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis and the Japan only Emberstoria. I said before that their only mobile release was a SaGa game, because the group also created Octopath Traveler 0, which makes sense as it was a spin-off/enhancement of the mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent.
As for 2026, apart form keeping updates coming for their various mobile games, I don’t know what else they could be working on. A lot of the mobile games they work on are co-dev projects, with other studios doing a lot of the heavy lifting. As this group also work on the Mana series, and it has been a few years since that got an entry, we could see something come from there, maybe even a Switch 2 port of Visions of Mana. It has not been announced who is working on it, but I suspect they have something to do with Dragon Quest: Smash/Grow, which is a new mobile game coming. Beyond those thoughts, I really don’t know what else could be going on, they don’t have any open roles that would indicate something major is coming, so for now we wait.
Creative Studio 5
Known for: Dragon Quest, Bravely Default | Last game released: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake
2025 was a big year for this group, not only were they coming off the success of finally getting Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake out the door, but they were all in on Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake coming later in the year. Before that though, the group did put Triangle Strategy onto PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S and they brought Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster to Nintendo Switch 2 at its launch. They did not slow down though as they also revealed a brand new game was coming, Adventures of Elliot and if all that was not enough, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined was also revealed.
In fact both games are coming out this year, with Dragon Quest coming in just a few weeks, though there is a demo now. The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales does not have a release date at this time, well beyond 2026, so I suspect later in the year. Of course, the Dragon Quest series is turning 40 years old this year and we would love to see Dragon Quest 12 released to celebrate, heck even some gameplay being shown would be great. I did find a job listing that talks about new HD games coming, including stuff for Dragon Quest, which could line up with the 40th anniversary. The group also oversee the Nier series and there should be a surprise for that this year as well. If all that was not enough, Dragon Quest X Online should continue getting updates and content, it did launch last year on mobile devices in China, so there is clearly a market for it still. I am ok with my Offline version that I picked up a few years ago, which itself got a mobile port last year. This group have a lot coming in 2026 and I think they will be the ones to surprise us the most.
TAITO CORPORATION
Known for: Space Invaders, Puzzle Bobble | Last game released: QQQbeats!!!
2025 was a busy year for Taito, as they had both QQQbeats!!! release but also Groove Coaster: Future Performers, though that last one was Japan only. In addition a new Puzzle Bobble game was released, but Arc System Works were responsible for that one.
Unlike last year, where there were a few open roles for the group, this year almost all of the jobs they have open are for their various arcades, nothing I could find for game development. Does this mean that they have nothing to offer in 2026? No, it simply means that they have the staff they need. I suspect that QQQbeats!!! will get more DLC across 2026, beyond that though, I have no idea.
Square Enix Europe
Known for: Lift is Strange, Outriders | Last game released: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
The European arm of Square Enix was one of the hardest hit in the layoffs last year, as countless marketing staff were let go. Will this impact the games, unlikely as they don’t make anything themselves. The studio has been bringing one project a year to market for a while, their past works included PowerWash Simulator and Little Goody Two Shoes, so who knows what is next.
We did learn the other day that a new Life is Strange is coming, though there were rumours for a few months. It will be revealed in a few days and is expected to release this year. It is also possible that this group is helping out with Killer Inn, you know that weird multiplayer game that was revealed by Square Enix that people thought was a joke. We know they are helping with development, we just don’t know to what degree and where exactly all that is happening. Will they have more to come than just this, unlikely, but I am happy to be surprised.
So that is Square Enix, they have begun their simplification process, bringing more games to more platforms and this year is the first year we are going to see some of those results. Do you think they have more planned in 2026, or are you just hoping for details on a few of their long in-development games?
