Square Enix has released its latest financial report, relating to the last fiscal quarter, reporting a 18.4% decrease in overall net sales of its games on a year-over-year basis, despite the presence on the market of a high-profile title like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, whose sales have evidently not recovered from the previous quarter.
Considering that sales in the same period in 2023 were not exactly exceptional, it is clear that the Japanese publisher must review some choices. For comparison, in the same quarter of 2023, Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters were released.
Profits, but no sales
Despite the drop in sales, Square Enix still made a profit, thanks to a lower amortization of development costs and advertising expenses. The MMO segment also saw an increase in sales and profits compared to last year. The data does not include the July release of Dawntrail, the new expansion for Final Fantasy 14, which will be included in the next quarter’s report.
Mobile games also declined“due to weak sales of existing titles.” No names are given, but it can be assumed that the free-to-play Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis was among the disappointments. Despite this, profits increased thanks to the optimization of operating expenses.
In short, Sales have been poor, but reorganization efforts are paying off for the company in some ways. In particular, it seems that the axe dropped by president Takashi Kiryu on some projects, which saved Square Enix around 120 million euros, was an effective solution, at least in the short term. The publisher also laid off staff in its foreign offices, producing further savings.
In short, the games sell little, but Layoffs and cuts to ongoing projects still manage to generate profits. That said, Square Enix needs to find a way to get back to selling more games, because it can’t just cut back forever.
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