Square Enix

Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, and distribution company known for its Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts role-playing video game franchises, among numerous others. Several of them have sold over 10 million copies worldwide, with the Final Fantasy franchise alone selling 144 million, the Dragon Quest franchise selling 78 million and the Kingdom Hearts franchise selling 30 million. The Square Enix headquarters are in the Shinjuku Eastside Square Building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company employs some 4600 workers worldwide through its base operations and subsidiaries.

The original Square Enix Co., Ltd. was formed in April 2003 as the result of a merger between Square and Enix, with the latter as the surviving company. Each share of Square's common stock was exchanged for 0.85 shares of Enix's common stock. At the time, 80% of Square Enix staff were made up of former Square employees. As part of the merger, former Square president Yoichi Wada was appointed the president of the new corporation, while former Enix president Keiji Honda was named its vice president. Yasuhiro Fukushima, the largest shareholder of the combined corporation and founder of Enix, became chairman.

In October 2008, Square Enix conducted a company split between its corporate business and video game operations. Square Enix reorganised itself as Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., a holding company, while its internally domestic video game operations were formed as a new subsidiary called Square Enix Co., Ltd. During the 2014 fiscal year, the company made over ¥150 billion in revenue (US$1.36 billion).

In addition to its flagship subsidiary, Square Enix Holdings owns the arcade gaming corporation Taito, known for games such as Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, and Darius. Square Enix also owned British game publisher Eidos Interactive, which was absorbed into Square Enix Europe to publish Eidos Interactive titles such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Hitman under the Square Enix brand.