Square Enix has recently been utilizing Google Gemini to streamline its quality assurance procedures. According to ITMedia, the game developer’s AI and engine development division general manager Takeshi Aramaki disclosed this information during a presentation at the Google Cloud Next Tokyo ’26 event held last week.
As Aramaki detailed, the system fully depends on artificial intelligence to examine the game display, grasp the in-game scenario, and manipulate the controller accordingly. During the presentation, a demonstration video was shown of the AI performing independent tests by reviewing the in-game map and maneuvering the character.
“What our developers required was not merely AI capable of conversing with them, but an AI that could process the game’s audio, observe the minute changes on-screen, and fully comprehend the situation,” he stated. The choice to automate the QA process stemmed from the escalating workload that Square Enix developers had been experiencing in recent years. Aramaki noted that the company had already begun employing Google’s AI to expedite development cycles and enable developers to concentrate more on the creative aspects of their work.
In June of this year, it was announced that Square Enix would receive subsidies from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry across multiple areas as part of the government’s IP360 initiative. Specifically, one of the categories Square Enix will receive public funding for is “support for development platform construction.” On the official site of the IP360 program, the project is characterized as a “next-generation quality verification platform that leverages AI technology to establish a foundation for fully automating the process, from test design to automated QA playtests, graphic bug detection, and text validation.” Given these specifics, it is highly probable that this platform is the aforementioned Gemini-based QA tool.
On a related note, Square Enix has recently been exploring numerous methods to employ AI. In April, the company partnered with Google to create Oshaberi Slimey (Chatty Slimey), a Gemini-powered AI chatbot slated to be integrated into Dragon Quest Xin as the player’s support character. Additionally, in July, the two firms hosted an in-person event in Tokyo as another collaboration between the Dragon Quest franchise and Gemini AI. The event was conceptualized as a real-world scavenger hunt, where participants could scan specific barcodes to generate spells using AI. All things considered, it appears that Square Enix and Google will likely continue to leverage their business alliance through potential new partnerships.
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