For the new year, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda released a letter to investors, players, and other interested parties about the publisher’s future plans. This is how we learned last year that Square Enix wanted to invest in NFTs to motivate players. In 2022, this resolution was actually implemented, starting with a new NFT shop where users can purchase NFTs about Final Fantasy, among other things. A little later, a rather vague teaser followed, which many players thought was a remake of Parasite Eve. Unfortunately, this turned out to be yet another NFT project that will allow players to “unravel history” in the spring of 2023.
More blockchain games are coming from Square Enix in 2023
Unsurprisingly, the publisher’s blockchain attempts were not well received by the players and Square Enix had to take a lot of criticism. Although only a fraction of users are actually interested in any NFT projects, explained Matsuda in his letter this year, that Square Enix remains focused on the development of blockchain-based entertainment and plans to announce many more games using blockchain technology in 2023.
“Regarding new business areas, we have identified three focus investment areas in our mid-term business plan. Among these, we focus the most on blockchain entertainment, to which we have devoted aggressive investment and business development efforts. Looking from the outside, I can say that Blockchain has gained significant recognition in 2022, as evidenced by “Web 3.0″ becoming a well-established buzzword among businesspeople.”
“Our group is developing several blockchain games based on original IPs, some of which we announced last year, and we are making preparations that will allow us to unveil even more titles this year. […] Blockchain created both exhilaration and turmoil, but with that in mind, we hope blockchain games will enter a new phase of growth in 2023.”
With their blockchain endeavors, Square Enix definitely has a pretty uphill battle ahead. According to Yosuke Matsuda, blockchain technology could “gain significant recognition” in 2022, but at least in the gaming sector, most users react more with dislike than approval.
