Square Enix Merges Visual Works and Image Arts Divisions to Accelerate Next-Gen Graphics Research

Today Square Enix announced with a press release that it’s integrating two of its production divisions.

The Visual Works division is going to be merged with the Image Arts Division into the newly named Image Studio Division under the direction of Takeshi Nozue, director of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV on top of having worked on the cinematics of multiple Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games.

Visual Works has been responsible for many of cinematics of most of the publisher’s top games, while Image Arts, formed by Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV veteran, has focused on high-end visual expression mostly in real-time graphics.

You can read the official announcement below.

Square Enix is newly establishing SQUARE ENIX Image Studio Division today through the integration of its Visual Works Division and Image Arts Division.

The Visual Works Division has created pre-rendered movies for many of the Company’s game titles. The Image Arts Division, whose core staff includes members from the team that created the movie KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV, has meanwhile engaged in research and development into high-end visual expression with a focus on real-time graphics.

By fusing the technologies and attributes of the two divisions into the SQUARE ENIX Image Studio Division, the Company aims to become faster at its research and development efforts into next-generation visual expression and at incorporating the results of those efforts into actual content. It thereby hopes to provide its customers with an even higher quality of experience.