Final Fantasy maker Square Enix cancels $140 Million worth of content

The Japanese video game publisher Square Enix announces a $140 million hit as it revises its approach to the development of future games and links the staggering amount to the stoppage of certain productions.

A ‘Notification of Recognition of Extraordinary Losses’ has been published by the developers of the hit franchise Final Fantasy. This says “The Company expects to recognize approximately ¥22.1 billion in content abandonment losses on its books for the fiscal year ended March 2024.”

A meeting was held on March 27, 2024, involving the Board of Directors where a vote was passed on a “myriad” of changes in the environment surrounding the Group.

It notes how the Group has taken a revised approach “to the development of high-definition (HD) games to be more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources.”

Square Enix hasn’t made it known which games or in-development titles have been canceled or rescoped.

This news comes after the President of the company, Ryuji Kiryu, was said to be undertaking a drastic review of the development system in February.

Bloomberg reported that the president made a statement on February 5 at the financial results briefing to analysts where he allegedly announced: “We are reviewing what the organizational system that embodies the contents of the pipeline is and what is best on a zero basis.”

On February 5, Square Enix released its financial earnings for the nine months of the fiscal year that ended on December 31, 2023.

The net sales were ¥257.6 billion ($1.7 billion) which represents a 1% increase year-on-year, meanwhile, profit stood at ¥26.8 billion ($180 million). The profit was down 42% year-on-year and Digital Entertainment net sales were down 2.5%.

Since the release, Foamstars launched a day later but sale figures are not yet known for this game. The next installment of the Final Fantasy 7 remake, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, was also released on February 29.

While official figures haven’t been published, rumors suggest that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth isn’t selling nearly as well as the first game in the reboot series.

As for Foamstars, this title has seen a nosedive in player count just two months after launch. A 54% decline in the PlayStation player base was noted within two weeks of launch.

Featured Image: Photo by Sven Piper on Unsplash

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