Following a deal between Square Enix and Animoca Brands Japan earlier in 2024, the two are further strengthening their ties as Animoca Brands’ Mocaverse project has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Square Enix’s Symbiogenesis. 

More particularly, Symbiogenesis will tap into Mocaverse’s Moca Network, giving over 1.8 million Moca holders access to Symbiogenesis content.

Previously having a strong game focus, the project is now mainly labelled an art collection with additional “browser-based experiences”. Created by Japanese game publisher Square Enix, the collection contains 10,000 NFTs, which are integrated with its “browser-oriented content”.

Notably, ahead of the release of its second chapter in June 2024, Symbiogenesis minted out 1,500 NFT characters during a three-day auction on Arbitrum One.

As for Mocaverse, it will enable existing Symbiogenesis players to access its partner games and experiences, including Animoca’s more than 540 portfolio companies, in a quest to accelerate web3 onboarding.

Mocaverse project lead, Kenneth Shek, commented, “Mocaverse’s partnership with Symbiogenesis represents an exciting opportunity to simplify the path to web3 for a crypto-curious audience.”

Producer of Symbiogenesis at Square Enix, Naoyuki Tamate, said “We are thrilled to start our collaborative partnership with Mocaverse. Together, we will leverage our respective strengths to onboard users to the next iteration of the Internet.“

Story-driven web3 game Symbiogenesis from Japanese game publisher Square Enix has minted out its 1,500 NFT characters during a three-day auction. A total of 1,500 NFTs were released on Arbitrum One on 31st May in a public auction that ended 2nd June.

Just days before the auction, Square Enix announced the NFT characters would be released on Ethereum L2 Arbitrum in order to reduce the cost of gas, requiring users to bridge their ETH. Its earlier characters were minted on Ethereum, while other in-game NFTs were on Polygon.

Symbiogenesis revolves around 10,000 collectible NFT characters, which are unlocked with each new chapter. As users enter the world of Symbiogenesis, which is described as the last floating continent left of the planet, the story is gradually unveiled in conjunction with individual stories related to each NFT character. Following the mint, Symbiogenesis Season 2 will kick off.

In April 2023, Square Enix signed a deal with Animoca Brands Japan to boost the global marketing of Symbiogenesis. Through the partnership, Animoca Brands Japan will offer Symbiogenesis support with NFT sales, including using its forthcoming NFT Launchpad Sorah, in addition to helping with its market strategy and global expansion.

More generally, Square Enix recently announced staff layoffs across its US and European offices as part of wider restructuring plans. The publisher reported net sales of $2.3 billion for the fiscal year ending 31st March, 2024 – a rise of 4% Y/Y. However, profits fell by 70% to $95 million.

Previously, it had also warned of “extraordinary losses” due to cancelled projects, which cost the company $140 million.