With the release of its latest financial results, Square Enix has revealed that it is looking to replace roughly 70% of its QA team with generative AI by the end of 2027. While AI has become a catch-all term in recent months with no distinction between generative and general purpose AI, Square Enix has specifically used “generative AI” in this report to signal its intentions.
As part of its “Square Enix Reboots and Awakens” business plan, the company states that is has launched a partnership with the Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory at the University of Tokyo which is “aimed at improving the efficiency of game development processes through AI technologies.” To this end, the company and the university have started a project titled “Joint Development of Game QA Automation Technology Using Generative AI.” Oh wonderful…
The project is being worked on by a joint research team comprised of “more than ten members,” which includes researches of UTokyo and engineers from Square Enix. As stated above, the goal is to “automate 70% of QA and debugging tasks in game development by the end of 2027.” Square Enix believes that by using automation technology, it can improve the efficiency of its QA and seize a competitive advantage in game development… somehow.
This isn’t the first time this year we’ve heard of a publisher pivoting towards AI. Just last month, EA announced it was partnering with Stability AI to develop generative AI tools to assist with game creation. PUBG publisher Krafton also pivoted to being an “AI-first company” and is dumping an immense amount of money on the technology. Square Enix is just following the current trends, which likely won’t work out well for it in the longrun.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
