Square Enix Considering Creating New Studios and Acquiring Existing Ones
Between the releases of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, Forspoken, and Octopath Traveler II, it's been another busy year for Square Enix. Still, though, the company hopes to expand, and this might include forming or acquiring new studios.
Today, Square Enix revealed that it is thinking about creating new studios and acquiring existing studios as part of its plan to grow its in-house development resources.
According to slides from the company's full earnings report released today, Square Enix plans to "consider M&A, creating new studios, and taking minority stakes" to bring in more external development resources."
In addition, it plans to hire more engineers and developers "to develop not only HD and smart device games but also content for future cross-platform offerings."
Square Enix also revealed that sales and profit were down during its 2023 fiscal year, though it partially attributed this to the lack of expansions in comparison to last year's DLC for Final Fantasy XIV. The company forecasts a stronger fiscal year in 2024.
Earlier this year, Forspoken developer Luminous Productions was absorbed back into Square Enix to continue working on AAA games, but in March, Square Enix said that Forspoken sales were "lackluster." Its president also recently stepped down after a 10-year run that ended in controversial blockchain advocacy.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they've contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner .
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