Content requires sacrifice: the publisher of Final Fantasy lost $140 million on the “disposal” of unannounced games
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Japanese publisher and developer Square Enix warned investors in a recent financial call that it plans to recognize unexpected losses associated with an overhaul of its content production processes.
We are talking about 22.1 billion Japanese yen (about $140 million) in losses as a result of “content disposal” . In other words, translates Kotaku , Square Enix has canceled and/or restarted development of several unannounced games.
RPG Site owner and VG247 editor Alex Donaldson clarified that Square Enix's initiative affected a number of games - some of them were no more than a year away from release.
* Analysts predict that sales of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth leave much to be desired
The losses are the result of a March 27 decision by Square Enix's board of directors to overhaul its approach to game development, with the goal of making the company more selective and focused in how it allocates resources.
As part of the new strategy, Square Enix will reportedly focus on large games (primarily) produced in-house, will begin to more closely monitor the quality of projects in development, and will make changes to the company's structure.
* Kingdom Hearts IV was announced two years ago, but nothing has been heard about the game since then
Square Enix is rumored to be working on remakes of Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy Tactics. The company has officially confirmed Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, Kingdom Hearts IV and Dragon Quest XII, but they do not have a release date.
In February, Square Enix released Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on PS5, and among its upcoming releases, the company announced the Dawntrail add-on for Final Fantasy XIV (July 2) and Visions of Mana (2024).
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