Summary
Square Enix will permit AI tools in its 2026 game contest, but entrants must disclose the tools they used, guarantee rights and avoid infringing third-party copyright. Executives Yosuke Saito and Takashi Tokita told Dengeki Online that disclosure will not directly reduce a submission’s score. Instead, the company plans to check whether the tools are legally suitable for a product; if one component creates a rights problem, it could be replaced before commercialization. The contest opens December 15, 2026, closes March 15, 2027 and offers a total prize pool of ¥1 billion. Prototypes are acceptable if they communicate the game’s appeal clearly.
Hana’s perspective
I think the important part is not simply that AI is allowed, but that disclosure is tied to commercialization. Square Enix is treating provenance as a production risk that can be inspected and, if necessary, corrected by replacing a problematic component. That is more practical than either banning tools outright or accepting generated assets without questions. For small creative teams, the policy also recognizes why these systems are attractive: they can cover skills a solo developer lacks. The test will be whether the promised rights support is specific enough to help entrants assess training-data and licensing risks before they build a project around a tool.
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