Square Enix: Multiplatform strategy to pave the way out of the crisis

Disappointing sales figures have forced Square Enix to change its strategy: in future, the Japanese publisher's major games will also be available on all platforms. This was announced by Square Enix when it announced its latest business figures.

Square Enix will pursue an "aggressive multiplatform strategy", it said. The publisher's major productions are to be released explicitly for Nintendo platforms, Playstation, Xbox and PC. This should enable more customers to play Square Enix's major franchises and generate additional revenue.

Until now, the Japanese publisher of games such as "Final Fantasy" and "Dragon Quest" has primarily served Sony's Playstation, before the games often landed on the PC with a time lag. The change in strategy is therefore primarily important for Xbox and Switch players, but PC fans can also look forward to earlier releases.

Sales figures fall short of expectations

The background to this decision, however, is less pleasing for Square Enix: all recent releases have fallen short of expectations. Neither "Final Fantasy 16" nor "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth" have achieved their financial targets to date, Square Enix announced. The publisher's share price fell by 17 percent as a result of the disappointing business figures. Square Enix is also apparently having to lay off employees.

Square Enix is also feeling the effects of the tense situation on the games market, which has led to thousands of redundancies and several closed studios worldwide. Square Enix is also following the trend with its efforts to supply all platforms. Even the two platform operators Microsoft and Sony have recently opened up: Microsoft has recently released several of its games, including "Grounded" and "Sea of Thieves", on Playstation as well. Sony, meanwhile, has not yet been able to bring itself to offer its own productions on Xbox consoles. However, these games have recently been regularly released on the PC with some delay.

(dahe)