Square Enix to Allow Revivals of Fear Effect, Gex, and Other Old Franchises

Square Enix is expanding its crowdfunding platform, Square Enix Collective, to allow independent developers to pitch ideas that make use of some of the publisher's old intellectual properties.

With Collective now being suitably "established" after almost a year of operation, Square Enix announced today that it's making good on one of its original promises. In addition to simply being able to pitch game ideas in the hopes of attracting funding from fans, developers can now use the platform to pitch ideas that make use of the Gex, Fear Effect, and Anachronox IPs.

Before any ideas make it to the public feedback process, Square Enix will need to approve of them. Provided they get the company's thumbs up, the public will be able to vote and offer their thoughts over the course of four weeks. If the response is strong enough, a crowdfunding campaign for the game will begin.

Square Enix says it's not necessarily looking for direct sequels with any of these franchises; it even suggests the possibility of a Gex side-scrolling adventure or turn-based strategy game.

Whatever the case, the publisher will take a larger-than-usual cut of the money. In addition to the usual 5 percent of crowdfunds and 10 percent of net sales revenue (a "standard distribution fee") for Collective games, Square Enix will take an additional 10 percent of net sales as a licensing fee. Such is the price to pay for reviving Gex.

All three of these IPs have been dormant for more than a decade. Others may be added to the list of those available to developers, but Square Enix says it'll "start with those and see what the response is like."