Square Enix recently shared its plans around Final Fantasy in particular, and things risk radically changing for the future of its flagship franchise, among others, a priori for the better.
In any case, this is what we can see in Square Enix’s recent financial report for its fiscal year ending March 31. This one is visibly mixed. So much so that the Japanese giant intends to make a radical change when it comes to its strategy, particularly around Final Fantasy.
A radically different future for Final Fantasy and Square Enix
Despite the release of Final Fantasy 16 and FF7 Rebirth during the previous fiscal year, Square Enix seems to have recorded financial results below its expectations. Its revenues compared to the previous year would have indeed fallen by 15.8%. The Japanese giant notably reports a “ incomplete progress towards better profitability in the development of HD games “. Despite certain critical success for its last two Final Fantasy games, commercial success does not seem to have been as much as expected.
Motivated by these results, Square Enix thus indicates rather good news for players in the broad sense. The Japanese giant has indeed announced a three-year plan aimed at relaunching its long-term growth. Of the solutions being considered, the most notable element is a move to a multi-platform strategy. “ Square Enix will aggressively pursue a strategy including Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms “. This therefore means, among other things, that the next main Final Fantasy games will no longer necessarily be exclusive to PlayStation consoles.
Prioritize quality over quantity
This is the second major point of Square Enix’s new plan. The Japanese giant hears “ focus on developing “fun” titles that only the Group can create “. The idea is therefore to optimize the production of games and concentrate its efforts on a few key titles, instead of multiplying them. Let us remember in this regard that during the fiscal year now closed, the company lost 22.1 billion yen (around 130 million euros) by canceling or rebooting numerous titles in development.
In summary: more notable games but fewer in number, on more platforms, particularly concerning its flagship Final Fantasy franchise. The 16th opus should therefore soon arrive on PC. It remains to be seen whether it will also be released on Xbox and/or Nintendo platforms. The same question can be asked for the masterful FF7 Rebirth. This seems not to have had the commercial success hoped for by Square Enix on the PS5 alone. Deploying it, among other things, on PC soon could give it a well-deserved proverbial renaissance.