Square Enix Blockchain efforts continue with Oasys partnership

by Arthur · September 12, 2022

The blockchain saga of Square Enix continues. The Japanese company has partnered with blockchain company Oasys to become a “node validator” on the latter’s blockchain, joining companies such as Sega, Netmarble and Bandai Namco in doing so.

What does this Square Enix blockchain membership mean?

Square Enix’s relationship with Web3 and NFTs dates back to early 2021 when the company announced it would begin selling NFTs based on Million Arthur property. Since then, Square Enix has made its understanding of NFTs and the blockchain very clear, but now it’s taking the next step and actually joining a blockchain itself.

The blockchain in question is Oasys, an “eco-friendly … proof-of-stake” blockchain built for the gaming industry. Square Enix has joined the blockchain as a “node validator,” which essentially means it’s one of the companies responsible for verifying and authenticating transactions on the Oasys blockchain. Since blockchains are decentralized, they rely on consensus to acknowledge transactions, and Square Enix will now be part of that consensus.

A close-up of Cloud in the Final Fantasy VII remake by Square Enix — Square Enix has made its blockchain allegiance well-known, with NFTs based on properties such as *Final Fantasy* on the way.

It’s not just Square Enix that acts as a node validator on this blockchain. The company joins other industry titans such as Sega and Bandai Namco in this endeavor, with other node validators including Neowiz, Ubisoft and Netmarble. Oasys says this means it has support from “both traditional and crypto-native gaming partners”. I’m not sure I’ll ever hear the term “crypto-native” again.

What will Oasys blockchain be used for, exactly?

As with many other Web3 initiatives in gaming, it’s hard to say exactly what concrete uses it will have. Chances are, it will be used to enable and enhance gaming experiences, where games offer the ability to sell assets to other players for cryptocurrency. Oasys says that together with Square Enix, it wants to “explore the possibility of leveraging user contributions” to develop new games on the blockchain.

It’s fair to say that responses to blockchain games in the wider industry have been mixed. Companies like Square Enix and Netmarble have gone all-in on NFTs and the blockchain, but others remain unconvinced. Valve, for example, has banned cryptocurrency games from Steam (although some titles find a way around that particular restriction), and blockchain scams involving famous games are unfortunately very common at the moment.

A battle between Voltgar and Digmow in a factory setting in Coromon, which unfortunately has been victimized by a blockchain scam — *Coromon* is just one game that has recently been hit by blockchain scams.

Regardless of what industry insiders and companies think about the blockchain, one thing is certain: Square Enix is not backing down on its support for Web3, so we can expect to see more and more blockchain-related endeavors from the company in the near future. We’ll bring you more on this, and everything else gaming related when it comes to the blockchain, as soon as we get it.