Company president Takashi Kiryu announced that Square Enix will revise its development system to improve the quality of its games.
Kiryu's comments were made during Square Enix's recent financial results conference, Bloomberg It was reported, during which he indicated a policy of limiting external development and focusing on large-scale games developed internally, with the aim of boosting game quality and profit margins.
The new system is scheduled to be announced in the spring, with multiple sources on the conference call saying it will take effect in April. This would be in line with the company's new fiscal year.
Manage cookie settings
In the joint financial report, Digital Entertainment's net sales and operating income declined 2.6 percent year over year for the fiscal year to date (April to December 31, 2023).
Separately, net sales for the HD gaming sub-segment rose year-over-year due to the releases of Final Fantasy 16, the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, and Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince. The MMO sub-sector is down year over year, likely as interest in Final Fantasy 14 dies down ahead of the next expansion, Dawntrail.
Interestingly, net sales in the mobile gaming sub-segment also declined year-on-year, despite the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis.
This is exactly the same as in the company's previous financial results in November.
These new comments from Kiryu are also consistent with those made in November, released last month, in which he stated that the company needed to diversify its game production but also focus on a smaller number of releases.
There were no sales numbers for Final Fantasy 16 specifically, though the company previously reported that the PS5 exclusive sold 3 million copies worldwide in less than a week.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will launch later this month, with potentially high sales expectations. This will be followed by Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail in the summer, which could maintain the MMO's status as the most profitable in the series.
“Typical beer trailblazer. Hipster-friendly web buff. Certified alcohol fanatic. Internetaholic. Infuriatingly humble zombie lover.”