Final Fantasy creator reveals ‘aggressive investment’ in blockchain games

by · January 2, 2023

Final Fantasy creator Square Enix is ​​set to double down on blockchain game development despite turbulence in the crypto market, according to a Jan. 1 letter from company president Yosuke Matsuda.

The letter, entitled “A New Year’s Letter from the President”, aimed to summarize the company’s most important achievements in 2022 and explain its plans for 2023. Out of 15 paragraphs, seven were about blockchain games, which shows that blockchain games are a main focus of the company’s investment strategy going forward.

Matsuda stated that “blockchain entertainment” is the investment field his team will be most focused on in the medium term, to which they have devoted “aggressive investment and business development efforts.”

After summarizing the ups and downs of the crypto market between 2021 and 2022, Matsuda attempted to understand the market’s recent decline. He said new technologies often cause “confusion” but are eventually accepted as a normal part of everyday life. So if there is turmoil in the crypto market, this should not necessarily make investors doubt its potential, he stated, adding:

“New technologies and frameworks lead to innovation, but they also create significant confusion.”

Matsuda added that any technology capable of riding out “societal tides” will gradually become part of people’s lives and eventually give rise to new businesses and growth.

“After the excitement and excitement that surrounded NFTs and the metaverse in 2021, 2022 was a year of great volatility in the blockchain-related space,” he noted.

“However, if this turns out to have been a step in a process that leads to the creation of rules and a more transparent business environment, it will definitely have been in the best interests of the growth of blockchain entertainment.”

Matsuda concluded the letter by saying that Square Enix has several blockchain games in development and will announce more during 2023.

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Square Enix made several moves in the blockchain gaming space throughout 2022. In July, they announced that they would be releasing Final Fantasy collectibles on the Enjin platform. In September, it joined the Oasys blockchain as a node validator. In December, Square Enix invested 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) in mobile game developer Gumi Games, to help develop mobile games to earn titles.

This recent letter suggests that the company has no plans to slow down its investments in the space in 2023, despite the market turmoil that occurred the year before.