One of Square Enix's goals for the next few years is to use generative artificial intelligence to “automate 70 percent of quality control and debugging tasks in game development,” which the company plans to implement by the end of 2027.
Target, spotted by VGCdescribed in detail in the company progress report on the implementation of the medium-term business planwhich was published along with financial results for the six-month period ended September 30, 2025. The goal, classified as “promoting the use of AI in Japan,” is part of the company's plan to “roll out initiatives to create additional fundamental stability.”
As the report explains, the company initiated joint research with the Matsuo Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, and also held a company-wide business idea competition on the topic of artificial intelligence, during which “several selected ideas were developed into projects and are currently being promoted within the company,” although the nature of these projects is currently unknown.
The goal of the joint research is to improve “the efficiency of game development processes using artificial intelligence technologies,” the company said. Building specifically on generational artificial intelligence, Square Enix wants to “increase the efficiency of quality assurance operations and create a competitive advantage in game development.”
In terms of structure, the joint research team includes more than ten people, including researchers from the Matsuo-Iwasawa Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, as well as engineers from the Square Enix Group, which promotes “co-development.”
A few days ago, several Japanese studios, including Square, demanded that OpenAI stop stealing their work.
This week, the Overseas Content Distribution Association (CODA) sent a written request to OpenAI demanding that the US company stop using their members' content to train models like Sora 2.
Japanese anti-piracy organization represents numerous media and video game companiesincluding Square Enix, Cygames, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware owner Kadokawa Corporation.
CODA said OpenAI may be infringing copyrights after confirming that a larger number of results generated by Sora 2's video generation model were “highly reminiscent of Japanese content or images.”
“CODA has determined that this is the result of using Japanese content as machine learning data. In cases, as in the case of Sora 2, where certain copyrighted works are reproduced or similarly generated as output, CODA considers that the act of replication in the machine learning process may constitute copyright infringement.” reads the statement.
In early 2024, Square Enix President and Representative Director Takashi Kiryu stated that the company would “aggressivewhile applying artificial intelligence and other technologies throughout the year to “create new forms of content for consumers.” In 2025, game developers not warming up to the AI generationand some are more concerned than ever that technology will reduce the quality of games.
Last month, Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu spoke with ZHASRAK Magazine on his opinion on artificial intelligence in music, stating that he has “never used this technology and probably never will.” (The interview was translation of Automaton.)
“I think it's still more rewarding to overcome challenges by creating something yourself. When you listen to music, the pleasure is also to know the story of the person who created it, right? However, AI does not have such experience,” Uematsu told JASRAC. “Even when it comes to live performances, the music people create is inconsistent and everyone makes it differently. And it is these fluctuations and imperfections that make her sound so satisfying.”
