Square Enix offers Eidos IPs to indie developers

Published: February 18, 2015 12:18 PM /

By:


Gex the Gecko Returns

Today, Square Enix announced it would begin accepting pitches on game ideas from independent developers based on Eidos IPs Gex, Fear Effect, and Anachronox. Square Enix released this information via its site The Square Enix Collective. The announcement opens these classic IPs for submissions by independent developers. This continues the Collective initiative which looks for independent developers to partner with Square Enix, but opens up a lot of new ground with these IPs for game developers to pitch on.

According to the announcement, game developers may pitch an idea within the boundaries of the IPs universe.

“It *doesn’t* mean that we’re looking for straight-up sequels – we’d love to see different takes on those universes. What would Gex look like in a side-scrolling adventure, or a turn-based strategy?"
Submissions will be accepted by the Collective website and will undergo pre-approving before being published on their Feedback platform. From there, the pitch will be voted on by the community for a length of 28 days.

If approved, the project will move to the crowd funding phase. Square Enix addressed possible concerns with the forced crowd funding process explaining it as only a means to revitalize an IP. After earning rights to the IP, an independent studio will be responsible for the development process, making crowd funding a necessity. Square Enix did specify, though, that it will play a role in development in order to ensure the game’s completion.

Assuming the goal is met, Square Enix will take 5% of crowd funding raised, and will also distribute the game for 10% of net sales revenue. The company will also ask for a 10% licensing fee in order to use the IP.

“The developer will keep 80% of the net revenue from sales of the game – and who knows, maybe we’ll be interested in licensing a sequel as well? It’s a pretty good deal.”
Gex, Fear Effect, and Anachronox all hail from the late 90s and early 2000s and have not received any treatment since 2001. Square Enix’s decision to release these IPs marks the first mention of these cult classic games since the early 2000s.

What do you think of the Collective? What do you want to see from these IPs? Tell us in the comments below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


No author image supplied

Lover of all things nerdy. If I'm not writing or working, you'll find me catching up on my favorite RPG's, most likely a JRPG at that. No… More about Justin