When the fantasy finally becomes reality

By Chong Jinn Xiung October 26, 2016

Final Fantasy XV was actually developed right here in Malaysia
MDEC hopes to see more collaborations like Streamline Studios and Square Enix in the future

When the fantasy finally becomes reality

FEW games have the luxury of a long development cycle but the storied development of Final Fantasy XV began 10 years ago in 2006. The chance to work on a Final Fantasy title is on the wish list of many a game developer.

It may come as a surprise to some that blockbuster video games like Final Fantasy XV are in fact made right here in Malaysia.

For the people at Streamline Studios in Kuala Lumpur, it was an honour to be tasked with providing premium development services for Final Fantasy XV.

Originally founded in 2001 in the Netherlands, Streamline Studios opened its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur in 2011 and is said to be the largest game development studio in Malaysia.

Streamline Studios was set up to be a creative and engineering outsourcing provider for the film, television and videogame industries. With over 100 employees, the company is now a well-known outsourcing and work-for-hire outfit.

The studio has a history of working on triple-A games that include Bioshock Infinite, Gears of War and Street Fighter V.

“Being entrusted with working on a game like Final Fantasy XV is awesome and it would not have been possible without the dynamic ecosystem created by MDEC (Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation),” said Streamline Studios chief executive officer Alexander L. Fernandez.

A Final Fantasy fan himself, Fernandez said the team in Malaysia was initially involved in debugging before being moved up to higher level tasks in the game’s development.

Streamline Studios has been working with Square Enix on Final Fantasy XV.

Japanese video game developer Square Enix is best known for its popular role playing game (RPG) franchise Final Fantasy which began back in 1987. The Final Fantasy series has been critically acclaimed and has sold over 110 million units worldwide in 2014.

Needless to say, a lot of work has been put in by developers at Square Enix and collaborating studios, such as Streamline Studios to offer an open world role-playing game unlike any other.

Square Enix’s lead designer for Final Fantasy XV Wan Hazmer said that Final Fantasy XV will be the best iteration of the game to date and is positioned as being suitable for newcomers to the series.
Now with just a month to go before the game’s much-anticipated release on Nov 29, the end is finally in sight for the game.

MDEC director of creative content Hasnul Hadi Samsudin proudly commented that the partnership between Streamline Studios and Square Enix is further proof that Malaysian studios have the capability and capacity to develop high-quality games at an international level.

That is good news considering that according to the South East Asia Gama Industry Initiative study published this year, the region’s game industry is currently flourishing and is expected to grow by 30% between 2015 and 2018.

“The world is sitting up and taking notice of our local talent and we hope to see more collaborations like Square Enix and Streamline Studios in the future,” he said.

Reinventing education one pixel at a time

Google Play: Positive news for app developers in SEA

For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.