Gex does not have the name recognition of powerhouse game mascots like Mario or even fallen stars like Sonic, but the wisecracking gekko is getting a shot at a new life thanks to Square Enix.

The Japanese game maker best known for the Final Fantasy series has put out a call for developers to pitch new game ideas for several game IPs held by the Square Enix-owned Eidos plc, which is known today as Square Enix Europe. The Eidos titles for which the publisher is currently accepting pitches include Gex, Anachronox, and Fear Effect.

The games are part of the Square Enix Collective, which works similarly to Valve Corporation’s Steam Greenlight program. Developers submit game ideas to the community, which can then comment and vote on them. While Steam Greenlight lets users choose already finished games to be added to the Steam Store, the Square Enix Collective assists developers by helping with crowdfunding and providing a publishing platform for the finished product.

“It feels like the right time”

“It’s been almost a year since we fully launched Collective, and one of the headline announcements back then was the prospect of allowing developers to create games based in some of the old Eidos IPs,” Square Enix said in a statement. “Well, now the platform is established and we’ve more experience in supporting projects (both in Feedback and through crowdfunding) so it feels like the right time to live up to that early promise.”

Square Enix must first approve all submissions before they will be released to the community for voting, and accepted pitches will be given a 28-day voting window before the publisher decides which, if any, of the projects it will be moving forward.

Square Enix also keeps a percentage of the revenue from any approved games, taking 5 percent of the net crowdfunding total and 10 percent of the net sales revenue. The company also charges a 10 percent licensing fee for use of its game IP.

The publisher notes that the developer will still keep 80 percent of the total net sales revenue, adding, “Who knows, maybe we’ll be interested in licensing a sequel as well? It’s a pretty good deal.”

Image credit: “Gex 3 box” by Eidos. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia