This Fall, Square Enix is introducing a line of English language manga, novels, and art books based on their games with the help of Penquin Random House.
If you’ve been looking to dive deeper into some of your favorite gaming worlds from Square Enix, you’re in luck. This morning, they’ve announced a new multi-year deal with Penguin Random House to bring new books, based on their various games, to audiences all around the world.
To kick things off this Fall, they’ll be releasing Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future, a novel set in the FFXV universe, as well as mangas for Hi Score Girl, A Man and His Cat, and Soul Eater. Some of these will be reprints/translations from their Japanese releases, but for fans here in the West, it’s an exciting opportunity to delve deeper into these stories:
The Japanese multimedia entertainment company is best known internationally for their gaming properties, which include FINAL FANTASY®, TOMB RAIDER®, DRAGON QUEST® and NieR:Automata® titles on game consoles and mobile platforms, but in Japan, Square Enix is also a renowned book and magazine publisher. The company has previously licensed their manga properties (including hits like FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST®, SOUL EATER® and Black Butler®) to US-based publishers, but the new program marks their entry into the English-language market directly, publishing graphic novels and other book products under SQUARE ENIX for the first time through all major book sales channels.
“We are excited to have this opportunity to introduce our wide variety of books with the help of PRHPS to our new readers,” said Katsuyoshi Matsuura, Executive Officer and Vice President of Publication Business Unit, Square Enix Co., Ltd. Masaaki Shimizu, General Manager and Publisher of Book Publishing Division, SEA who is responsible of the new program, said, “We’re so excited that we now have the full support from PRHPS for achieving our goals to introduce more English translated books and expand our reach to new audiences.”
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Square Enix for their venture into the worldwide, English-speaking market,” added Jeff Abraham, President, Penguin Random House Publisher Services. “We see significant opportunity for their exciting and original program to succeed here.”
