author: Zuzanna Domeradzka
Square Enix Revolutionizes Its Approach to Games. Japanese Are Done With 'Quantity,' Now Aiming for 'Quality' and 'Multiplatform'
Square Enix revealed a new publishing strategy for the coming years. The Japanese company wants to release its big-budget games on multiple platforms.
As anticipated, the Japanese company Square Enix released its financial report for the previous fiscal year today. As a result, we learned specific details about it new strategy. The plans will come into effect on March 31, 2025, and will cover the next three years of SE's operations.
Square Enix focuses on quality and multi-platform compatibility.
We have known for some time that Square Enix has decided to change its approach to video game development. Canceling unfinished projects was supposed to bring large losses for the company, so the new strategy assumes a shift from "quantity" to "quality" to protect against this type of situation in the future. The report states that SE will concentrate on releasing high-budget games from popular brands, suggesting that we can expect mainly titles from series such as Final Fantasy, rather than entirely new IPs like Forspoken (which proved to be a major disappointment).
The company will strive for a regular launch cadence, focusing its development efforts and investments on titles with substantial potential to be loved by customers for years.
Furthermore, an interesting piece of news is that Square Enix will focus on "multiplatform." High-budget "HD games" are expected to be released not only on Sony consoles, but also on Xbox, PC, and even Nintendo platforms in the future.
This is a significant change from the previous strategy, as, titles from the Final Fantasy series were initially released exclusively on PlayStation. Even though "Sixteen" or the second part of the remake of "Seven" are also set to debut on PC (the release date is still unknown), it seems that in the future, large games from Square Enix of this kind will be released more quickly or simultaneously on other platforms. Betting on "exclusivity" has apparently stopped paying off for the company, which now really wants to "focus on the acquisition of PC users."
Financial results
Square Enix will also alter its approach to marketing and internal human resources management. This will involve, among other things, "optimizing costs at its European and American offices via structural reforms" and strengthening cooperation between branches in Japan.
The company's net profit in the previous financial year was approximately 95.7 million dollars, representing a 69.7% decline compared to the previous year in strictly financial terms. Despite high marketing expenses and operating losses, consolidated net sales for "HD games" increased compared to the previous fiscal year due to the releases of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Final Fantasy XVI, and Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. In the fiscal year ending in March, a total of 26.3 million game copies were sold, marking a year-on-year increase of 3.8 million units.
