Multiplying releases over the period from April to December 2022, Square Enix is currently posting a drop in its turnover (1.8 billion euros against 1.9 billion euros) and in its operating profit. (290 million euros instead of 352 million euros). Net profit, on the other hand, is up sharply with 326 million euros against 280 million euros over the same period a year earlier. In addition to the boost in foreign exchange gains, this increase is explained by the sale of Eidos Interactive studios and licenses (Eidos Montreal, Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix Montreal, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, etc.) to the Embracer group for $300 million. This trompe-l’oeil gain is therefore not the reflection of any winning strategy, unless depriving yourself of a franchise like Tomb Raider (95 million games sold worldwide) is considered a nice move. , but this sale could allow Square Enix to end the fiscal year with the largest net profit in its history.
Falling game sales
This exceptional cash flow should not make us forget that business is quite uneven at the moment at Square Enix. First of all and despite the release of a large number of games on consoles and PC (let us mention PowerWash Simulator, Live A Live, Dragon Quest X Offline, Valkyrie Elysium, Star Ocean The Divine Force, Tactics Ogre Reborn, Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Quest Treasures), the turnover of this segment is down compared to that of the previous financial year. The volume is also in free fall with 16.4 million games distributed between April and December 2022, against 29.4 million a year earlier (mainly Outriders, NieR Replicant, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Life is Strange True Colors, Marvel’s Guardian of the Galaxy, Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker, Triangle Strategy, Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin).
The same goes for the MMO segment, whose decline is however more expected and logical: Square Enix released Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker in the previous year and the game does not benefit from such an extension every year. Finally, iOS and Android games still represent the bulk of the turnover, but the latter has also fallen compared to the level of the previous year. While it still has a good fifteen profitable mobile games, some of which have been operational since 2014, Square Enix has also recently announced the closure of titles such as Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier and Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero’s Bonds .
Rightly cautious, Square Enix did not wish to communicate a target for the last quarter of its fiscal year, the main releases of which are Forspoken, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line and Octopath Traveler II. Problem, the disappointment is already palpable with regard to the first named.
