{"id":66935,"date":"2026-05-21T13:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T04:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66935"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T04:57:23","slug":"square-enix-announces-game-dev-contest-in-japan-with-winners-receiving-publishing-deals-and-up-to-1-89-million-usd-in-prize-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/square-enix-announces-game-dev-contest-in-japan-with-winners-receiving-publishing-deals-and-up-to-1-89-million-usd-in-prize-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Square Enix announces game\u00a0dev\u00a0contest\u00a0in Japan, with winners receiving publishing deals and up to\u00a0$1.89 million\u00a0USD in prize money\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Following\u00a0Shueisha\u00a0Games\u2019\u00a0recent movement to solicit game proposals<\/a>\u00a0from creators,\u00a0Square Enix<\/strong>\u00a0has announced its own game-making contest. Dubbed the\u00a0Square Enix Game Contest 2026<\/a>,\u00a0the\u00a0goal is to \u201cpioneer a new future for gaming with ideas that transcend imagination.\u201d\u00a0To this\u00a0end, the company\u00a0will help\u00a0bring new and interesting game ideas to life\u00a0by\u00a0way of monetary\u00a0backing\u00a0and full publisher support.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike Shueisha Games\u2019 game proposal initiative, where those without game experience were encouraged to apply, Square Enix Game Contest applicants have to send in a gameplay video of their project. The video, in addition to the accompanying project proposal, will be used in the first round of judging. This will be followed by a second round of judging, which involves playing a working version of the game using an executable file. The third and final round of judging will be an interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proposals will be evaluated across four categories: innovation, originality, entertainment value, and polish.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nier<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, all games that have not won awards in other contests and have not been sold or distributed for commercial purposes count as eligible entries.\u00a0Proposals that use AI-generated content will also be considered, though Square Enix is\u00a0currently\u00a0working on a list of guidelines that ensures\u00a0transparency and prevents copyright infringement.\u00a0Entries should be playable on PC or mobile, while VR titles are not allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give aspiring contestants ample time to prepare, the sign-up period begins on December 15, 2026 and ends on March 15, 2027. Winners will be announced three months later, on June 30, 2027. Only individuals, groups, and corporations residing in Japan are eligible to enter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winners will be divided into three award categories; all of whom will be awarded prize money and publisher support from Square Enix. The only difference is how much money each category receives.\u00a0The Excellence Award\u00a0will be given to 10 entrants,\u00a0who will be awarded 30\u00a0million\u00a0JPY (roughly $189K USD). The Masterpiece Award\u00a0will have 4 winners,\u00a0who\u00a0will receive 100\u00a0million\u00a0JPY ($629K USD)\u00a0each,\u00a0and the single Grand Prize\u00a0winner will win a whopping 300\u00a0million\u00a0JPY ($1.89\u00a0million\u00a0USD).\u00a0The total prize pool for the contest amounts to 1\u00a0billion\u00a0JPY ($6.3\u00a0million\u00a0USD).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite not having begun yet, the contest is already seeing positive reception on social media, with some likening it to the national programming contest Enix hosted many years ago<\/a>, which spawned classics like Koichi Nakamura\u2019s Door Door and Yuji Horii\u2019s Love Match Tennis. NieR creator Yoko Taro also seemed impressed by the upcoming contest<\/a>, calling it one of the most interesting Square Enix announcements he had heard of in a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find the full details of the Square Enix Game Contest 2026 on the official webpage<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starting December 2026, Square Enix will welcome developers in Japan to submit their projects for a chance to win generous monetary prizes and publishing support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":66937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[64,3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-66935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-development","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nSquare Enix announces game\u00a0dev\u00a0contest\u00a0in Japan, with winners receiving publishing deals and up to\u00a0$1.89 million\u00a0USD in prize money\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Starting December 2026, Square Enix will welcome developers in Japan to submit their projects for a chance to win generous monetary prizes and publishing support.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/square-enix-announces-game-dev-contest-in-japan-with-winners-receiving-publishing-deals-and-up-to-1-89-million-usd-in-prize-money\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Square Enix announces game\u00a0dev\u00a0contest\u00a0in Japan, with winners receiving publishing deals and up to\u00a0$1.89 million\u00a0USD in prize money\u00a0 - 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