Square Enix announces NFT "franchise" instead of rumored Parasite Eve, and fans want it "unannounced"

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"There is still time to pull up your pants and apologize. Delete this project."

Symbiogenesis
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Square Enix has announced an NFT art "franchise" called Symbiogenesis instead of the Parasite Eve project some fans were hoping for, and well, you know the rest.

For some background, Square Enix recently filed a trademark for Symbiogenesis, and Paradise Eve rumors were quick to circulate online, seemingly stemming from the fact that symbiogenesis is an actual word referring to the joining of two organisms into a single new organism.

"How dare you get my hopes up," one zemus101 said at the time. "Chill it probably just be a mobile game," pandaapandaa added. 

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If only they could've known what was actually to be announced: an NFT "collectible art project." The thing's Twitter bio also calls it a "new franchise," which of course suggests this will be some kind of long-running series made up of several different projects.

The brief teaser revealed for Symbiogenesis indicates that there's some sort of story to "untangle" and pegs a Spring 2023 release date. Other than that, we don't know a whole lot about this project, but we do know, unsurprisingly, that a lot of folks aren't happy with it. Just looking at the ratio (379 likes and 1,241 quote-tweets at the time of writing), you can tell Square Enix's NFT project isn't going down as well with the public as it probably would've liked.

The comment section is a miserable space of total despair, rife with replies and cynical memes expressing disappointment at the news and around NFTs more generally. Other folks are demanding that the news be "unannounced." In case that doesn't adequately describe the mood around the announcement, here's a little snapshot:

"Right now, you are currently squatting on the table over your fans' plate, with your pants down," writes @765tet. "Everyone around is staring at you in disgust, knowing your intentions. There is still time to pull up your pants and apologize. Delete this project."

While technically this isn't explicit confirmation that a Parasite Eve project isn't in the works, it does pretty much kill what seems to be the one indication that something like that was in the works. So, not only are people not getting the thing they wanted, they're getting more NFT junk instead.

Cheer yourself up with our comprehensive guide to new games of 2022 - no NFTs, we promise.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.