If you remember back to last year’s E3, there was a visually stunning real time tech demo that Square Enix showed off entitled “Agni’s Philosophy“. The graphics engine used to create the demo, Luminous Studio developed by Square Enix Japan, showed everyone what a next-gen Final Fantasy game could potentially look like. You can check out the tech demo by clicking the link above.
Square Enix’s CEO, Mike Fischer, recently spoke with Shacknews, saying that Luminous Studio will remain an exclusive in-house engine. This means that unless a studio signs a publishing deal with Square Enix, others will not have access to the engine and its tech. We’ve actually seen more and more game publishers keep their engines as in-house exclusives, such as EA with Frostbite and Bethesda with idTech, while some third-party publishers are sharing their engines more freely, such as Epic with their Unreal engine.
Fischer says Luminous Studio will remain an in-house engine in hopes that “this makes teams and creative people around the world excited to work for us because they’ll get their hands on some of the best technology in the industry”. Personally, I have high hopes for what Square Enix will be able to accomplish with this beautiful engine and hope that others will find even more amazing ways in making games with this technology.
What do you think of Square Enix’s move to keep Luminous in-house?
Source: Shacknews
