Square Enix Expands Into U.S. Development With Supreme Commander

Japanese RPG development giant Square Enix made an unexpected announcement this morning: The company will form a “strategic partnership” with Gas Powered Games to create
Supreme Commander 2.

Square Enix has been tossing around the idea of expanding its Japan-centric business model into a more worldwide approach, but this probably isn’t what many people were expecting — a partnership to continue the development of an existing, outside franchise. The original
Supreme Commander(pictured) was developed by Redmond-based Gas Powered Games and published in 2007 by THQ.

Today’s statement about the deal says that this is the first time in the company’s history that it has partnered with an external developer outside of Japan.

It seems to me a solid move — rather than trying and failing yet again to establish its own U.S. development house with the goal of making games for Americans, Square Enix instead looked for a successful Western developer that was simply in need of a publishing partner. This seems like a much saner path towards establishing themselves as a worldwide player.

Image courtesy Gas Powered Games

:: Source: Game Life @ wired.com