The competition to be the next big thing in video games has been going on since video games first came to arcades and, later, to households. Some rose to prominence, but others, despite being played by many, were forgotten.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the mascot race that took place in the 90s, where everyone wanted to create the next Mario killer. One of these attempts at cementing a legacy was Gex, a wise-cracking, platforming gecko with a surprisingly extensive library of titles. The silly lizard has been dormant For many years, but it's possible that Square Enix will change that soon.
For context, Square Enix does not own Gex because it was originally brought to players by the same company that brought the world Final Fantasy and other JRPGs of renown. Gex was the property of Eidos Interactive before the company was purchased by Square, and Gex was part of the package deal. Now Square Enix has filed a renewal for the patent on Gex, keeping him usable. Yes, one of the biggest companies in the world, the owner of Final Fantasy 14, just filed to renew one of the most irrelevent gaming mascots of all time.
On the one hand, this seems a bit odd. Gex has not had a place in the video game scene for years, despite once being a franchised force. A Gex game in 2022 or 2023 would be as odd as a new game starring Bubsy the Bobcat. However, that oddity already exists, making a new Gex title less farfetched than many would believe at first. Traditionally, Gex has been a platformer, though whether in 2D or 3D depends on which console he was appearing on.
The good news is there's a real chance that any new Gex game made could be genuinely good. Square Enix previously offered Gex to prospective developers through its Square Enix Collective project, inviting other devs to try their hands at the properties. If a similar offer is made now, perhaps an indie dev could turn Gex into the household name he never was.
No one can accuse Square Enix of not utilizing all of its tools, though only time will tell if anything worthwhile comes from Gex being revived once again. Still, with the M rated Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin on the way having received a hearty laugh at its reveal, it's questionable whether or not Gex would be Square Enix's weirdest move.