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Publishers Square Off Over Eidos

Buyout rumours strengthen as Square Enix enters the fray.

By John Gillooly on 5 December, 2008

A few days ago, one of the most fantastic company names in gaming ceased to be. Sales Curve Interactive, or SCI as it was better known since early fame with Carmageddon, is now Eidos. It gets to use the name because it purchased the floundering British publisher back in 2005.

It makes sense as a name change, especially as rumours grow that several big publishers are now circling the company with buyout lust in their eyes. Among those looking to get their hands on Lara Croft’s assets were EA, Warner, and Ubisoft, however, a very interesting fourth horse has joined the race. Thankfully, rumours of Midway being interested didn’t last long, especially considering that company is now in a much worse position than Eidos.

Square Enix made its intentions known a few months ago that it was looking at Western expansion, announcing a deal to publish Supreme Commander 2. At that time, the Japanese RPG producer stated it was looking to not only announce more publishing deals, but to acquisitions as a way to build its Western presence beyond the current legions of Sephiroth devotees.

MCV reports that the buyout race is coming down to Warner and Square Enix. Warner already owns 20% of Eidos, so it is the natural favourite for punters, but I must say that, as a gamer, the prospect of Square Enix taking charge of Eidos’s floundering portfolio of game franchises could be a special combination.

That’s not ignoring the fact that Warner has some of the most enduring cartoon and movie IP from past decades, it’s just that, well, The Matrix. Warner has shown that, even with a custom made IP behind them, they just can’t pull out something special. Unfortunately, that’s been a large part of Eidos’s problem as well.

As is the way with these things, it will probably be some time before we know the outcome. But for fans of Eidos’s respectable back catalogue of titles, the good news is that there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the company.