- Square Enix is taking a quality-over-quantity approach to its future games.
- President Takashi Kiryu wants to draw a clear line between AAA and indie releases.
- The publisher will, therefore, create fewer AA games moving forward.
In the past, Square Enix has focused on producing lots of content across its franchises to meet the demand from consumers. However, this is set to change in 2024 and beyond.
In addition to experimenting with AI in gaming, President Takashi Kiryu states that the company hopes to focus on fewer games in the future.
Why it matters: Square Enix is currently among Japan’s leading game publishers. As the owner of renowned franchises like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, and more, the publisher faces the challenging task of balancing games for these beloved IPs.
According to Square Enix’s latest financial results briefing, the company hopes to ensure a consistent level of quality across its games. When asked about his plans to achieve this goal in the future, the President outlined intentions to:
“Ensure higher quality for each title by slimming down the lineup.”
He elaborated that Square Enix identified clear winners and losers among its IPs. Of these games, Final Fantasy is clearly the publisher’s biggest asset, motivating the studio to release games more frequently for this series.
The President also acknowledged that indie games are not to be underestimated. He claims that such games can make their presence felt in the market, as evidenced by the success of IPs like Octopath Traveler.
One major goal for President Takashi Kiryu is to set a clear distinction between indie and AAA releases. As he states, the publisher has often found itself releasing games that fall in the middle of these industries.
Games in the Nier franchise can be considered examples of this approach. While the likes of Nier Automata are among the publisher’s most famous titles, they did not receive AAA budgets in the past.
This will no longer be the case moving forward as the company works toward focusing on one market or the other, likely resulting in most of the attention diverting toward the AAA games industry.
This focus has already been hinted at on numerous occasions, but the President’s comments on indie games are also encouraging. Though Square Enix might pursue projects like Octopath Traveler less frequently in the future, it won’t be abandoning this market altogether.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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