Square Enix teases action game reveal for tomorrow
The Balan Company is putting on a show
Balan Company, a new development studio under Square Enix, will reveal a new action game this week.
The website for the studio was recently updated with a teaser for 10am PT / 1pm ET tomorrow, Thursday, July 23. That's just one hour after the start of the upcoming Xbox Series X games showcase, so we're expecting to see the Balan Company's debut title as part of Microsoft's show, perhaps as a post-show announcement. It's hard to imagine Square Enix would push a standalone announcement for a new studio's first game on a day where Xbox will inevitably dominate the news cycle.
Other than the circus-like atmosphere of the Balan Company's website, we don't really have any clues as to what the studio has in store, and even that may just be unrelated set-dressing. The "company" in the studio's name refers to a group of performers rather than a business collective, so the Cirque du Soleil branding might just be their thing. And their website teaser simply reads: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show of wonders brought to you by the Balan Company. We thank you for your patience while we make preparations for the grand opening."
We do know it's an action game, though, since the Japanese Square Enix events Twitter specifically referred to Balan Company as "a new action game brand" (per Google Translate). Granted, an "action game" could be anything from a 2D action-platformer to a third-person brawler, so there's no telling what we'll see.
It's safe to assume that the Balan Company's new game will be a cross-gen or next-gen release, and it wouldn't be Square Enix's first next-gen announcement: it announced Project Athia (working title) earlier this year.
Sign up to the 12DOVE Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.
Bloodborne still seems a long way from getting an official 60fps port, but fans have finally gotten PS4 emulators to deliver the remaster they’ve wanted for years
Ultima creator Richard Garriott considered a tabletop version of the pioneering open-world RPG series but isn't sure it would sell: "May be worth finding out"