Breakdown
- Square Enix is abandoning exclusivity terms for new games
- The Final Fantasy company aims to be “aggressive” with multi-platform releases
- Nintendo, Xbox and PC will all receive more Square Enix games
Square Enix will be largely abandoning its exclusive contracts for games such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Octopath Traveller and more.
As part of an “aggressive” new business plan for the company dubbed “Square Enix Reboots and Awakens”, more multi-platform releases are coming from the studio after a long history of favoring PlayStation.
Square Enix claims it will “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox and PC”. This means that less Square Enix games will release exclusively on one platform such as games like Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth.
The plan claims that “previous catalog” titles will be released on other platforms. This means that games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake will finally see a release on Xbox or the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2. The beloved RPG was previously reported as a potential Nintendo Switch 2 launch game.
This shift in strategy may be due to underwhelming sales of Final Fantasy games launching exclusively on PlayStation 5. While PC releases are planned for the future, the most recent games in the series are still only available on PlayStation hardware.
Alongside its shift to multi-platform releases, Square Enix is also focusing on releasing less games with a higher level of quality. Instead of mediocre games like Forspoken or Foamstars, Square Enix is aiming to take more time to deliver better games across a multitude of platforms.
“[We aim to] launch titles that ensure excitement that will bolster loyalty to our brand, placing top priority on bringing smiles to our customers’ faces”, the Japanese gaming giant explained. “[This will let us] keep and build on the fan bases for our major franchises by regularly releasing AAA titles”.
Over the past few months, Square Enix has canceled a number of unannounced games in development to focus on this new strategy. While huge AAA games like Kingdom Hearts 4 are still in the works at the company, some smaller, more experimental titles appear to have been scrapped so teams can assist in the development of larger titles.