A new report has come out, aside from an existing financial report, Square Enix itself published in November 2023, that the company is looking to overhaul the way it makes its games.
Echoing the previous financial report that was translated in January (but for the period ending November 7, 2023), Square Enix has released another financial report that suggests they will be looking to overhaul the way they make their games in the future. While the previous report from November 2023 suggested that the previous releases of FFXVI and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster were profitable, Square Enix reports that “profits were basically flat, partly due to differences in product mix.”
This could refer to Square Enix’s middling sales numbers on non-mainline releases that didn’t sell according to forecast, like Valkyrie Elysium, but Square made it a point to mention, “The response to our recent release STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R has been very positive.”
According to Bloomberg, Square Enix Representative Director and President Takashi Kiryu detailed, “We are performing a zero-base review to determine what kind of organizational structure is necessary to realize the contents of our pipeline, and which approach is best” regarding the future of Square Enix game development moving forward in a financial call held yesterday, February 5. President Kiryu also said the new methodology can be expected to be announced this coming Spring.
It’s worth mentioning that Square did not directly point out a single point of their business model responsible for the paradigm shift in development (on the call or in the financial report), but President Kiryu closed the November report with “I therefore want to increase our profitability by stably growing our businesses and optimizing our cost base, and we will set forth specific measures for doing so at our results briefing in May 2024” which supports the recent financial statements reportedly made yesterday.
Square Enix will likely reveal more information in their upcoming financial report slated for May 2024.
