Why Square Enix Collective keeps quiet about publishing PowerWash Simulator

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It's been six years since we last spoke to Square Enix Collective, the indie publishing arm of the Final Fantasy company.

We've just not heard from them. Which is quite surprising when you consider how much we write about indie publishing, plus the fact that the Collective was started by former GamesIndustry.biz editor and publisher Phil Elliott.

Candidly, a few of us may have assumed the division was coming to a natural end. We've seen big companies launch publishing labels, and then scale them back or quietly close them. Sometimes because they've served their purpose, and other times because priorities have changed. Remember Activision Blizzard's Sierra publishing label? Or GameStop's GameTrust? Or Sega Searchlight?

And in 2022, Battalion 1944 developer Bulkhead – one of the Collective's early success stories – cut ties with the company. Then earlier this year, Elliott left to become CEO of Modern Wolf.

But we weren't looking closely enough. Because it turns out that not only is Square Enix Collective alive and kicking, but it's responsible for publishing the hit indie game PowerWash Simulator, which has racked up over seven million players. We knew about Futurlab's hit game, of course, but we hadn't realised that Square Enix had handled the publishing.

"I'm not surprised," said Timea Edvi, director of indie publishing at Square Enix, who took over the role vacated by Elliott in February.

"But you know why? It is in our DNA – and I speak for the whole team here – that we really want to always want to put the devs and the game in focus. It's less about the Collective. Of course, we're proud of it. But it was intentional, not putting the