Square Enix President and Representative Director Yosuke Matsuda has explained the company’s approach to NFTs, Blockchain games and Web 3.0 development in a recent New Year’s letter, as well as teasing several new blockchain games in development based on original IPs.
The executive attributes Square Enix’s initiative to double down on blockchain development to the drastic shift in macroeconomics caused by the pandemic and how it caused volatility in the cryptocurrency and NFT markets, leading to a need to regulate these businesses more strictly. The director still sees a potential for growth and innovation in this market if it begins to have transparent rules, and he refers to Japan’s 2022 policy programs to realize a digital society as a positive step in establishing these rules and facilitating the growth of the Web 3.0 and blockchain entertainment.
The director also praised the decentralization aspect of Web 3.0 in how it is self-sustaining compared to traditional gaming. Decentralization refers to the concept of players or individuals owning and controlling the content they use rather than having it mediated by a third party or a government such as Web 2.0 social media sites, and therefore controlling the sustainability of the content themselves.
Nevertheless, the volatility of the cryptocurrency market due to external factors – something that players cannot control – creates a major obstacle in the face of this idealistic goal, which is why the director talks about creating gaming experiences that will keep players entertained and excited first and foremost and primarily instead of focusing on revenue generation before anything else. That way, they won’t leave the game if the value of their digital assets drops or if the in-game economy collapses.
On a related topic, the director also explained the reason for the sale of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal to the Embracer group, which is to concentrate its resources on strengthening internal development and investing in the development of titles that are “Globally competitive,” so as well as to preserve the costs needed to pursue such endeavors.
Square-Enix has previously invested in the Sandbox Etherum Metaverse project with the Dungeon Siege IP, which has seen significant and sustainable growth in the previous years. The company also announced Symbiogenesis, its first NFT collectible art project where players can solve a mystery depending on how they manage their in-game resources. The project will be launched next spring on Google Chrome and other browsers.
