Square Enix is doubling down on NFTs and blockchain games
In the wake of this year’s NFT and crypto controversies, veteran developer/publisher Square Enix has nevertheless vowed to remain committed to its ongoing NFT projects and blockchain games, according to a year-end letter from the president. What these blockchain games actually are is still anyone’s guess – apart from Symbiogenesis, the bizarre NFT collection experience announced earlier this year – but in between selling off some of their most beloved IP and jumping on the crypto bandwagon, one can don’t let it. scratching their heads over Square Enix’s latest business decisions. Here’s what Yosuke Matsuda’s letter had to say about crypto:
Several blockchain gaming events held overseas have recently created more active discussion than ever before about what makes the games exciting and what their user community looks like. The market was driven more by speculative investors than by players through 2021. In other words, the content that was at the forefront was created based on the premise that blockchain and NFTs would result in monetization. However, in the wake of the aforementioned turbulence in the cryptocurrency industry, there is now a trend to see blockchain technology as just a means to an end and discuss what needs to happen to achieve the end of delivering new experiences and excitement to customers. I see this as a very favorable development for the industry’s future growth.
Our group has several blockchain games based on original IPs in development, some of which we announced last year, and we are making preparations that will enable us to unveil even more titles this year. We are also engaged in global sourcing from an investment perspective and will continue to take stakes in promising businesses whether we find them in Japan or abroad. Blockchain has been a subject of excitement and a source of unease, but with that in the rearview mirror, we hope that blockchain gaming will move into a new stage of growth in 2023.
It is a risky move, especially considering that not a single blockchain-based gaming has managed to break the mainstream. The vast majority have simply been the kind of manipulative money-grubbers that pervade ‘Web 3’ – if they are not outright scams from the start, that is. It’s a shame, then, that the massive success of Final Fantasy 14 will continue to enable Square Enix to chase trends like this to the hot death of the universe.
