Although Square Enix is one of the largest game publishers in the world, it usually focuses on Japanese games and games. In the last quarter of 2022 alone, the publisher has and is releasing The Diorfield Chronicles, Valkyrie, Star Sea: Divine Power, Harvest, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion, and more .
However, it looks like it’s starting to reposition that approach, as the latest annual report states that Square Enix will be working on releasing and developing more projects for a wider global audience.
“Given the aging population, it is now difficult for companies that compete primarily in the Japanese market to achieve significant growth in the gaming industry,” the report said.
“So it’s critical for our business to make hit games that speak to the global market, which offers greater scale in terms of both customers and sales. Also, because of the technology in gaming devices such as consoles or smart devices, Progress, game development work is becoming larger and more complex. As a result, the investment required to develop a game is an order of magnitude larger than in the past. In other words, the Japanese market is no longer enough to realize the benefits that allow us to recoup the development investment and generate profits level, so we need to base our development work on the assumption that we have to be successful in the global market.
Of course, this all follows Square Enix’s recent sale of various studios known for their work in “global markets”, developers Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal.