{"rewrite":{"id":"r_c5bf75d0c6a1268b52cad295","clusterId":"c_e5201b06d0a93ce24e964b25","slug":"square-enix-opens-game-contest-with-1-billion-yen-prize-pool","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Square Enix Opens Game Contest With 1 Billion Yen Prize Pool","summary":"Square Enix announced SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026 on May 20, with a total prize pool of 1 billion yen. Executive officer Yosuke Saito, who supervises the contest office, said the company plans to select winning entries from the submissions. He said the goal is to help new developers get noticed in a market where nearly 20,000 works are released on Steam annually.","whyItMatters":"Square Enix is funding a contest at a scale that assumes it will crown winners, which makes selection itself the product it is buying: attention for games that would otherwise be buried.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eSaito said the contest was planned around the spread of indie development, where small teams can now finish a playable game in about half a year. He pointed to the volume of releases on Steam, where nearly 20,000 works arrive annually, as the reason a prize or selection matters: it makes a game easier to notice than an unsubmitted one. The contest has no age limit, and Saito said he expects entries from creators of a range of ages, including people making games alone. Square Enix held a similar contest in 1982.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Square Enix puts 1 billion yen on a contest while Steam ships nearly 20,000 games a year. Yosuke Saito's pitch is discovery, not development: the money is for visibility, not the project itself.","twitterPost":"Square Enix's contest spends on discovery, not development. Nearly 20,000 Steam releases a year is the problem the prize pool addresses.","threadsPost":"Square Enix is spending 1 billion yen on Square Enix Game Contest 2026. Yosuke Saito frames the goal as getting new developers noticed. The number that explains the contest is Steam's nearly 20,000 releases a year.","newsletterBlurb":"Square Enix announced SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026 on May 20, with a total prize pool of 1 billion yen. Yosuke Saito, the executive officer supervising the contest office, said the company will select winning entries from the submissions. He tied the contest to the volume of indie releases, noting that nearly 20,000 works arrive on Steam annually and that a prize makes a game easier to notice.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Inside\",\"url\":\"https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/10/16/189381.html\",\"title\":\"The Talent That Created 'Dragon Quest' Shined Thanks to a Contest-The Hope for Seeds of Next-Generation Hits in 'SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4701,"outputTokens":603,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792149733,"createdAt":"2026-10-16T11:18:06.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-16T11:21:08.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T11:21:08.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_e5201b06d0a93ce24e964b25","canonicalTitle":"『ドラクエ』を生んだ才能も、コンテストで光が当たったからこそ―「SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026」に込められた、次世代ヒット作萌芽への思い","representativeArticleId":"a_53e43fe49bb22b32464a4ea2","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Dragon Quest\",\"SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026\"],\"studios\":[\"Square Enix\"],\"people\":[\"Yosuke Saito\"],\"type\":\"event\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-16T10:00:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-16T12:30:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T12:34:24.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/16/173712.html","title":"『ドラクエ』を生んだ才能も、コンテストで光が当たったからこそ―「SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026」に込められた、次世代ヒット作萌芽への思い"},{"source":"Inside","url":"https://www.inside-games.jp/article/2026/10/16/189381.html","title":"『ドラクエ』を生んだ才能も、コンテストで光が当たったからこそ―「SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026」に込められた、次世代ヒット作萌芽への思い"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Dragon Quest","SQUARE ENIX GAME CONTEST 2026"],"studios":["Square Enix"],"people":["Yosuke Saito"],"type":"event","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}