Square Enix stepped into the PS5 reveal strong with a preview of a beautiful looking title that is currently working under the name Project Athia. This upcoming game is the latest from Luminous Productions, a subsidiary that houses the game engine used to create Final Fantasy 15's open-world. The engine has proven to be especially successful for HD graphics and particle physics.
The project itself looks like it could be the start of a whole new franchise that might eventually run with similar strengths as other Square Enix properties like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. However, with all of the promise that the developer and engine give the upcoming game, Project Athia is treading some unstable territory when it comes to making a name for itself.
At the moment, not much is known about Project Athia. Even the official name is unknown, with fans only being able to refer to the game by its project title. What has been revealed of the upcoming game so far looks great, thanks to how the PS5's processing power appears to offer enhanced mobility across an open world. So, if Square Enix is looking to set up a new heavy hitter, it has seemingly started on the right foot. However, the developer is going to need to be cautious moving forward to not repeat some mistakes from previous titles.
Final Fantasy 15 Development Struggles
A strong reveal is nothing new for Square Enix, since the developer is well known for pioneering graphical quality and making epic cinematic and gameplay trailers even from early builds of a game. However, one of the strongest cases in the industry of a trailer that promises more than it can deliver is the mistakes Final Fantasy 15 made with its announcement as Final Fantasy Versus 13 in 2006. That isn't to say that the final product wasn't an incredible experience, but it came ten years late, with a new name, from a new director, and with so many changes that the two games look almost nothing alike.
Given that Project Athia's open-world has been shown off before an official title has been decided, fans might be in for a similar wait time as Final Fantasy 15. Comparisons between the two are hard to ignore as well, considering that both are built on the same Luminous Engine, with Luminous Productions leading development. While this could easily mean that players are in for the same highs that Final Fantasy 15 delivered, they might want to prepare for the same lows that the long development and eventual release brought as well.
Building it's own Foundation
Creating a new franchise is always a risk, especially for a huge company like Square Enix, that essentially has to bet on every new project funding whatever comes next. This is what makes it so much easier for the developer to focus on moving a series like Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy forward with ports to new platforms and spin-off titles, since even niche titles like Melody of Memory sell relatively well. Moving on to a less established IP in gaming can be a huge risk in comparison, even for titles like the recent Marvel's Avengers that has the highest grossing movie franchise of all time backing it.
This all puts Project Athia in a tough spot, where it has to perform as well as Final Fantasy 7 Remake in order to potentially pull in a fraction of the sales of the established property. Square Enix and Luminous Productions are building a new foundation for a franchise to rest on with the upcoming title, and neither can afford to limp this one over the finish line. There is a lot riding on this new game to do incredibly well in order to live up to the hype already generating around it, and the developer is going to have to work carefully to inform players of exactly what they're looking to jump into.
Project Athia is currently in development by Luminous Productions.