Back in late 2013, Square-Enix launched Collective, a program designed to snag the publisher a piece of the indie crowdfunding scene. Basically, an indie developer pitches an idea to Square-Enix and if they greenlight it, it’s assessed and voted on by the Collective community. If a pitch gets enough votes, it then moves onto crowdfunding. It’s entirely up to the indie developer to build the game should it get funded, but Square-Enix will take a 10 percent cut of sales revenue once it’s released.
Collective hasn’t exactly been a rousing success, largely because it’s never really been clear what service Square-Enix is providing in all this. Why wouldn’t an indie developer just go straight to Kickstarter? Why would they want Square-Enix meddling in their affairs?
Well, Square-Enix is trying to add value to the Collective program by putting a handful of long-dormant properties up for grabs. The company is encouraging indies to sent them pitches for new Gex, Fear Effect or Anachronox games. According to Square-Enix, they’re looking for fresh takes on these series…
“What would Gex look like in a side-scrolling adventure, or a turn-based strategy? So feel free to mash up genres, and get creative.”
Unfortunately these old licenses come with a price – anybody who makes a Gex, Fear Effect or Anachronox game will have to pay Square-Enix an additional 10% licensing fee.
Personally, I was actually a pretty big fan of Anachronox, and I had a certain, um, appreciation for the ladies of Fear Effect. Also, it might be interesting to see see a Gex game that isn’t totally terrible…
via Eurogamer