Square Enix decides to go ahead with Web3, Blockchain Gaming Drive

Japanese gaming giant Square Enix has reaffirmed its commitment to blockchain gaming, announcing that it will continue to develop blockchain, Web3 and NFT games over the next 12 months.

The company that created Final Fantasy series, issued a fiscal year-end statement this month.

Square Enix has faced furious backlash from many gaming communities for its blockchain pivot, which it first unveiled in early 2022.

The company’s revenue fell slightly in the past year from about $2.7 billion at this time last year to about $2.5 billion.

It also lost nearly 1,000 employees in the same period.

But despite a lukewarm reception for its NFT-related titles such as Symbiogenesisthe company said it would continue to target Web3 growth.

The firm called its blockchain business an “initiative” that “will achieve further growth.”

It explained that it wanted to become a “pioneer” in Web3 games and would “continue to carry out investment activities globally.”

The company also claimed that “acceleration of blockchain game development” was one of its “priorities” for the coming year.

The firm has also recently launched an NFT game as part of the long-running game Million Arthur series.

While this game has also been supported by the international gaming community, Square Enix said it enjoyed popularity.

Square Enix said that “more than 75%” of the NFTs it released for the game last month have been sold.

Some sets are already sold out, it added.

The company said the title’s NFTs held the top transaction rank by commodity type on the Line Blockchain protocol.

And the company said it also explained that it Symbiogenesis the project was “still in development” with plans to “sell around 10,000 NFT artworks.”

Square Enix: Will Blockchain Gaming Pivot Succeed?

The company has previously said that focusing on traditional forms of gaming “will not be enough” for the company to thrive in the future.

Company president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda has previously spoken of Square Enix’s desire to “try its hand” at “delivering autonomous game content.”

Matsuda also talked about his plans to launch a crypto asset.

But an apparent decline in the firm’s fortunes could soon trigger a regime change that could affect the future of Web3-related progress.

In March, Matsuda announced that he would step down from the role in June this year.

His replacement, Takashi Kiryu, previously worked at Dentsu Innovation Initiative – another firm with Web3 credentials.

Dentsu entered into a metaverse partnership agreement with Microsoft last year.