Square Enix says Dragon Quest and Nier games rely heavily on outsourcing

Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito said at BitSummit Punch that both Dragon Quest and Nier titles are often created largely by external teams rather than being made entirely in-house. Nier: Automata, for example, was developed by PlatinumGames with direction from series creator Yoko Taro and music by Keiichi Okabe.

Saito added that most Dragon Quest entries have also relied on outside studios; between a third and a half of Dragon Quest 11 was developed in-house, with other companies such as Orca and ILCA appearing in the credits. Genki noted that Enix began as a team of producers and some script writers without an in-house development team, and that the company would seek out outsourcing partners for each game.

Early information on Dragon Quest 12, when it was called The Flames of Fate, named Orca and HEXADRIVE as co-developers, but a later reshuffle and restart of development has left the situation unclear.

square enix, dragon quest, nier automata, outsourcing, yosuke saito, platinumgames, yoko taro, keiichi okabe, orca, ilca