Square Enix wants 70% of its QA work to be handled by generative AI by the end of 2027, in partnership with the University of Tokyo’s Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory.
Announced in a progress report for last year’s Mid-Term Business Plan, the company notes its reason for doing so, the hope that: “through the use of automation technology, aim to improve the efficiency of QA operations and establish a competitive advantage in game development.”
This collaboration between Square Enix and the Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory comes in the form of a research team with more than ten members, filled with both researchers from the Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory, as well as engineers from Square Enix.
The Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory is a dedicated department of the University of Tokyo which focuses on new technology. It states on its official website a desire to “create an ecosystem that is equivalent to Silicon Valley”.
Square Enix has stated that within a year since the initiation of its Mid-Term Business Plan, the company has been “promoting AI utilization in Japan”, as part of its goal to “Roll out initiatives to create additional foundational stability”.
Back in February, Square Enix already announced it was using AI during game development, specifically Azure Open AI. Its CEO stated at the start of 2024 that the company would be “aggressive in applying AI”.
The company has also expressed interest in Metaverse and blockchain games. The president of Square Enix Yosuke Matsuda wrote in 2022 that the Metaverse would play a role in the company’s future. Square Enix also launched a blockchain game Symbogenesis in 2023, which entered its final season eight months ago.
Only early this week, Square Enix and other Japanese publishers asked Open AI to cease training it’s Sora 2 model on their creative works. As for as the fruits of Square Enix’s AI-assisted labour, the publisher “dabbled” with the technology when making Foamstars. Updates for Foamstars ceased at the start of this year.