Square Enix is doubling down on its plans to release blockchain games in 2023 and beyond. Despite the negative backlash surrounding the inclusion of NFTs and the blockchain in games, the publisher remains confident in its upcoming blockchain-related titles that will apparently keep coming this year, next year, and potentially the year after that.
In response to an investor concerned that Square Enix’s upcoming listing Final Fantasy games are too good for the company to keep growing (is that a concern?), Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda responded, reaffirming his stance on NFT and blockchain games being released this year and beyond. This is not what anyone really wanted to hear, especially in light of the gaming community actively pushing back against blockchain gaming and NFT projects in the gaming industry.
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In the full response to investors, Matsuda stated:
“Major title launches will not only be concentrated in FY2024/3. We have organized our pipeline so that we will have a good spread of new releases also in FY2025/3 and beyond. We also hope that you will look forward to the blockchain games we plans to launch in FY2024/3 and beyond.”
Plans could easily change at Square Enix since Matsuda will step down as company president in June and be replaced by current director Takashi Kiryu. The hope is that, after Matsuda’s departure, Square Enix will reconsider its blockchain plans, all of which seem to be quite motivated by Matsuda’s divisive decision-making.
Several gaming companies have previously tried to break into the blockchain and NFT space with little success. Ubisoft was perhaps the most infamous case of mass community backlash after it attempted to launch NFT-focused projects starting with Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Needless to say, the project didn’t work out so well. Back in July 2022, over a year since NFTs started gaining momentum, the cryptocurrency market crashed and NFT sales plunged to an all-time low.
The market is still extremely volatile right now, and NFTs are nowhere near as valuable as they once were, depending on which pocket of the market you’re looking at. It is unclear how Square Enix will convince players that blockchain is the right direction to go since no NFT projects except Symbiogenesis has been announced yet.
Source: Stephen Totilo
