Square Enix has announced their own digital direct video series, called Square Enix Presents, which will kick off next week with the debut of the next Life Is Strange title.
The inaugural presentation will take place March 18 at 1PM EST, on the company’s official Twitch and YouTube channels. Running at about 40 minutes, the showcase will focus more on its western properties, providing updates on Outriders, Marvel’s Avengers, and the 25th anniversary of Tomb Raider.
Here is the lineup for next week’s showcase:
- The world premiere of the next game in the Life is Strange series from Dontnod Entertainment, “featuring an all-new protagonist wielding an exciting new power”
- Outriders, “the high-intensity RPG-shooter” from People Can Fly, whose demo is generating a lot of buzz before its April 1 release
- Balan Wonderworld, the new platformer from Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka, out March 26
- “Ongoing celebrations” for Tomb Raider‘s 25th anniversary, which may include the “surprise” launch of the recently leaked Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Edition collection
- Updates on Marvel’s Avengers from Crystal Dynamics, which will be adding its next playable character, Clint “Hawkeye” Barton, that day
- Just Cause Mobile, a free-to-play shooter with 30-player competitive multiplayer
- “New mobile game announcements” from Square Enix’s Montréal studio, who previously developed Tomb Raider Go, Hitman Go, and Deus Ex Go
- Updates at some “whimsical games” from sister company TAITO
Square Enix Presents is touted as, “a series of shows in which the company will reveal new games, updates and news directly to the global gaming community throughout the year,” in a similar vein to Nintendo Directs or Sony’s State of Play presentations. The storied Japanese publisher is the latest to join this emerging trend as the pandemic continues to complicate public events like E3 and Tokyo Game Show.
With the event billed as the, “Spring 2021 edition,” it’s possible these could become regular quarterly programming, and could be the future home for updates on bigger properties like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. It’s also a testament to the sheer size of Square Enix’s portfolio of intellectual properties that they can host a whole exhibition of interesting content without mentioning their two largest franchises, or other anticipated titles from more Japan-focused studios.
