What does it take to get a job with Square Enix? What is it like working at Square Enix? ACR takes a look:
About Square Enix
Square Enix is famous for the legendary Space Invaders video game, which has been around for decades. This global interactive entertainment company develops, publishes, and distributes Square Enix, Eidos, and Taito branded entertainment content around the world. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan-based Square Enix Holdings Co., LTD. Square Enix Holdings has studios around the world from Japan to the U.S. to Denmark.
Besides Space Invaders, the company’s most popular games include Final Fantasy (over 100 million units sold), Dragon Quest (more than 58 million sold), and Tomb Raider (more than 35 million units sold). Other games include Dungeon Siege, Final Fantasy, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, and Dead Island (released 9-6-11), to name a few. Square Enix plans to release several new games in 2012 including Heroes of Ruin, Hitman Absolution, and Final Fantast XIII-2.
Besides the U.S. (Los Angeles, CA) and Japan (Tokyo), Square Enix Holdings has operations in France, Italy, Spain, China, and Denmark. The company has thousands of employees worldwide.
Square Enix Jobs
Square Enix, like many gaming companies, is always looking for fresh talent. As of September 1, 2011, Square Enix had a number of open positions. Some were available in the U.S. while others were in Tokyo, Japan. The job openings were as follows:
Senior Director - Online Marketing
Accounting Manager
- Assistant Producer
- Technology Manager of Online Game and Platform
- Online Business Analyst
- Director Web Management
- Senior Product Manager - Marketing
- Game Engine Developers
- CG Movie Programmers
Square Enix Salaries
Like other companies, salaries for Square Enix employees vary depending on job responsibilities, skills, and education. The company offers the following information about starting salaries, “Starting salary based on experience and ability in accordance with company regulations. Age is not a determining factor. Bonuses, raises are awarded based on ability and project achievements.”
To get an idea of who makes what in the gaming industry, Game Developer Magazine conducts an industry-wide salary survey each year. The latest survey lists average salaries for programmers, artists and animators, game designers, production specialists, and sound designers working in the gaming industry. The results of the survey are as follows:
- Programmers: $85,733
- Art & Animation: $71,354
- Game Design: $70,223
- Production: $88,544
- Sound Designer: $68,088
- Business and Legal: $106,452
Game Developer Magazine is a San Francisco-based print publication serving more than 30,000 professional game developers.