Attention gamers, far and wide! We got some great news for y’all concerning the future of Square Enix and the company’s game releases. Yep, in case y’all missed the report from their earnings call, don’t worry; we don’t blame you at all. ‘Cause it’s all corporate lingo snoozefest, anyway. But! There was one tiny bit of nugget of info that made our ears perk and twitch. It’s gotta do with Square Enix, now planning multiplatform releases of all their games going forward. This includes the Final Fantasy titles, too! How’s that for a shocker, eh?
But those in the know know that Square Enix’s in the red as recently they posted a whooping 140 million loss. So, it kinda makes sense. Now, don’t get us wrong, this is huuuuge! Like, no joke, we were blown away by this announcement ’cause now, it’s no longer gonna be an exclusivity race for games from one of the big Japanese video game publishers. So, buckle up; we’re gonna do a little hot take on this one, folks. The implications and the potentially deep impact it’ll have on the gaming landscape are gonna cause fanboy riots online. Let’s go!
What Triggered Square Enix To Go Multiplatform For Their Future Game Releases?
Courtesy of Push Square, we got to learn ’bout Square Enix’s Medium-term Business Plan from 2025 to 2027. If you take a gander through the content strategy, the gist of it is that Square Enix wants profit. Bottom line, as Stone Cold would say so, is that Square Enix played their hand, but it didn’t pay off. By sticking to and betting their chips on the nostalgia factor for Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Square Enix’s sales target missed by a long shot. Since we don’t know the exact numbers, we have to take their word for it.
Related: 7 Games To Play Before Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Then again, Square Enix has a bad habit of setting up unrealistic expectations. This is just an irksome habit of theirs, and we frankly do not care for it. Why? Well, for one thing, this shifts all the blame and responsibility on the shoulders of game devs. Secondly, the games do not sell as poorly as the executives make them out to be. Like, sure, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth didn’t sell gangbusters, but its confined to one platform. What else are you expecting?
Related: Final Fantasy 7 (FF VII) Rebirth Delivers THAT Romance! (SPOILERS).
The other game that is exclusive to Sony’s platform, the PS5, is Final Fantasy 16. Oh, boy, now this one had an even more stacked debt against it, ’cause, in addition to being exclusive to PS5, it also explicitly mentioned and was advertised as a mature Final Fantasy game. How on earth was Square Enix expecting to make bank with this one is beyond us.
Obviously, we still love the game and had a great time with it. But apparently, not a lot of folks felt the same way. Hence, the low sales numbers, and hence why Square Enix is now going multiplatform with all future game releases.
What Does This Mean For The Industry Going Forward, Particularly For Sony & Square Enix?
Look, it’s no secret that the biggest beneficiaries of the executive decision to stop exclusivity altogether are the gamers. Those who think otherwise are just butthurt, jealous fanboys; admit it, y’all know who you are. Now that Square Enix is going multiplatform with its game releases let’s see how things will change. So, first off, Sony’s gonna be ok for the most part. Sure, they might not get the exclusive marketing bumps in revenue, and they won’t heavily advertise Square Enix games like in the past, but aside from fanboys getting burned, most PlayStation gamers will be fine.
We firmly believe we’ll get day 1 simultaneous launches across platforms for all Square Enix titles. This means no special treatment for any specific console. Also, no thanks to Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios shutdowns and other disasters that showcase Xbox leadership incompetence, Square Enix’s current move is a blessing in disguise for them. Without having to work on getting Japanese games onto Xbox, Square Enix will do that for Microsoft.
The Nintendo Switch and PC crowd will also benefit from this change in tactics by Square Enix. The multiplatform move to make all games available to every player across all consoles by Square Enix aims to increase sales numbers. Whether or not that works out is anybody’s guess. But one thing’s for sure: if Square Enix doesn’t read the room and just churns our games with lead protagonists that’re unlikable (**Coughs** Forspoken **Coughs** and writing that’s horrific, people won’t buy their games, period.
Related: The Worst Female Characters In Video Games (2024) Edition.
Will Square Enix Release Previously Exclusive Games On Other Systems In Its Multiplatform Approach?
Square Enix has some weirdly head-scratching ways of releasing games across home consoles. They release small and niche JRPGS, in particular, randomly across rival platforms. From Tactics Ogre Reborn to the first and second Octopath Traveler games, or hell, the Kingdom Hearts series or the Legends series, everything is like haphazard in that you can’t play the entire franchise on one system. To that end, we hope now we can play niche games bound to retro systems, either through remasters or remakes. So, there is hope yet for previous exclusives to make a multiplatform plunge onto modern systems.
Related: Top 5 Classic Games That Deserve Remakes Like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
That’s why Square Enix is now looking to fix it by investing in well-known properties, for the most part. Naturally, the path that Square Enix is on with its multiplatform release of all games, we feel, will lead to them making a good profit. However, only pushing the more popular IPs and discouraging devs from experimenting will lead to a tussle. There will be a potential for conflict between the creative and executive wings. We hope not, but it is gonna happen.
What really hurts the most is that we’re huge fans of immersive JRPGS that you can lose yourself in. Those kinds of games are gonna be on the back-burner at best or outright not move forward in a worst-case scenario. This will lead to eye-brow-raising studio departures. Don’t believe us? Just recently, one of the legendary Japanese video game creators did it. It’s Shinji Mikami; he explained why he left Tango Gameworks. Spoiler alert! It was ’cause executives didn’t give him his due respect and the creative freedom he desired.
Anyway, with the multiplatform games strategy by Square Enix, there is a high chance of retro re-releases that were exclusive previously that gamers will be able to play.
Final Thoughts
Welp, there y’all have it, folks. Our two cents ’bout the news focusing on Square Enix and the aggressive multiplatform strategy of their games. What do you all make of it? Do you think it’s the right play by them? Or do you feel that pang of betrayal if you’re a PlayStation loyalist? Either way, rant, critique, and ramble away your thoughts on the matter in the comments down below. We’re really pumped to read what y’all have to say. Oh, and before we leave you today, we’ve got something really special for you to check out.
Square Enix might be setting itself up to lofty expectations that its gaming division might not ever achieve. To counteract that, we point them, and any interested readers, to another Japanese gaming publisher. Yep, you know the one. The one and only Capcom as it’s recently nabbed the crown of 2023 Metacritic Publisher Of The Year. Wanna know why? By giving the fans what they want and giving the creative freedom and license to go ham to the game devs. Maybe, study their strategy and emulate it? It did wonders for them, after all. Anyway, that’s gonna do it for now; we’ll see y’all in the next one. Take care, everyone, stay safe, and happy gaming!
