Square Enix taps Mobile Strike maker MZ to create Final Fantasy XV mobile MMO

MZ (formerly Machine Zone) has partnered with Square Enix to make a massively multiplayer online mobile game based on Final Fantasy XV.

The alliance is a combination of powerhouses that says a lot about how mobile gaming is changing. Mobile game fans, just like console and PC gamers, are gravitating to well-known game brands, and you can find plenty of evidence of that in the top ranks of the $36 billion mobile game industry. Branded titles such as Pokémon Go, Marvel Contest of Champions, and Madden NFL Mobile have been doing well in the charts. Nintendo’s Super Mario Run will debut soon, and in such an environment, it’s tough for original games to stand out. Yet free-to-play games such as MZ’s titles have held their own.