Square Enix is reportedly set to significantly overhaul how it makes games following flat sales despite the release of a mainline Final Fantasy game.
According to Bloomberg, Square Enix director and president Takashi Kiryu told analysts this week that the company’s new structure will be announced by spring 2024 and put in place in time for the start of April, and aims to improve the quality of the company’s games.
In its financial results for the nine months ending December 2023, Square Enix's sales were essentially flat, with sales from its digital entertainment business actually down 4.7%. This is a somewhat surprising result given the release of Final Fantasy 16 in June.
The PlayStation 5 exclusive sold three million copies during launch week, a figure that sparked a debate online about whether it had met Square Enix’s sales targets. The publisher told IGN in July 2023 that sales of Final Fantasy 16 were “extremely strong”, and insisted the game had sold well relative to the PS5 install base.
At the time, IGN sources familiar with the performance of Final Fantasy 16 confirmed sales had slowed considerably since launch but that the game was not yet considered a disaster. Square Enix then announced Final Fantasy 16 would get two paid DLC expansions in September 2023, and confirmed a PC port was officially in development. The first of these DLCs is out now, with the second due out in spring 2024.
Square Enix said that falling sales and profits at the digital entertainment business were due in part to declines in MMO Final Fantasy 14 and mobile and PC browser game sales, as well as increased development costs and advertising spend. No mention was made of Final Fantasy 16's sales performance.
Last month, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida said it might be time for a younger generation to lead the franchise and helm Final Fantasy 17. In the shorter term, there is clear pressure on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth to do the business for Square Enix. It launches at the end of February.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
