Square Enix to stop making mid-budget games after Final Fantasy 16 success

square enix to stop making mid-budget games after final fantasy 16 success

Final Fantasy 16 – definitely not a mid-budget game (Picture: Square Enix)

Despite suggestions that it underperformed, Square Enix claims Final Fantasy 16 did well but that could still lead to some unwanted changes.

For months now there’s been a narrative that Final Fantasy 16 didn’t do as well as Square Enix hoped, but since there’s never any hard figures to back things up one way or the other it’s been difficult to know for sure.

According to publisher Square Enix though, ‘It was in line with our expectations. To maximise our sales of ‘FF16’ over an 18-month period, we intend to roll out downloadable content and the PC version when the timing is optimal.’

That seems like good news but it won’t stop a reorganisation of its publishing plans, that will see the Japanese publisher purposefully avoiding mid-budget games in the future.

While the somewhat unenthusiastic appraisal of Final Fantasy 16 means it probably only just hit its targets that’s still an important achievement, in an industry where a single big budget failure can mean the closure of a studio (as happened with Square Enix’s own Forspoken).

Indeed, it sounds like the big budget excesses of Final Fantasy 16 are going to be used as a template for the future, with an investor Q&A, after their financial results were announced, revealing that Square Enix intends to slim down their overall output.

There’s no indication of which Square Enix exec answered the question, but they were asked whether it’s become difficult controlling so many different teams and studios.

Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at [email protected]

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

square enix to stop making mid-budget games after final fantasy 16 success

GameCentral Newsletter

Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they’re seen on the site.

Sign upPrivacy Policy »This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Stay up to date with the latest gaming news, exclusives and insight from our experienced editors. Sign up to Metro.co.uk’s GameCentral newsletter

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Disrupt Burrup protesters searched and phones seized

Disrupt Burrup Hub group say police have issued move-on notices prohibiting access to the WA site. A group of climate activists and filmmakers say their phones have been seized during ... Read more »

The generation driving a ‘megatrend’ of poor mental health in Australia

As individuals, we have unique experiences that affect our mental health and wellbeing, but what about the collective experiences that influence each generation? The mental health of Australians has been ... Read more »

Geraldton meatworks set to reopen after five years in bid to meet chilled meat demand from Asia, Middle East

Syed Ghazaly wants to see the Geraldton abattoir reopen early next year to process 1,000 sheep a day. (ABC Mid West Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis) The new owners of a mothballed ... Read more »

Blues seek ‘growth’ as pre-season begins; new Hawk aims to be AFL’s serial pest

Carlton coach Michael Voss says he and his players understand there are heightened expectations on them, but insists the Blues are ready to develop individually and in their game plan. ... Read more »

Bulldogs continue signing frenzy with swap deal

The Bulldogs’ off-season signing frenzy is set to continue with the club reportedly set to land Cronnor Tracey in a swap deal. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Tracey is expected ... Read more »

Customers to weigh in as Optus disruption comes under microscope

Consumers and impacted businesses are being urged to have their say on the Optus outage, with the federal government laying out the terms of reference for its review into the ... Read more »

Released detainee unable to be contacted by authorities

It has been revealed a released immigration detainee is unable to be contacted by authorities. Border Force has referred the matter to the Federal Police as authorities are attempting to ... Read more »
Top List in the World