Square Enix Reveals It Is Going To Focus On More AAA Titles Moving Forward

In its latest earnings call, Square Enix uncovered that moving forward, the Japanese company is going to put more focus on developing AAA titles and less so on mid-sized games. As per analyst David Gibson, who was present in the meeting, the developer is going to work on more “larger” AAA consoles in the future. However, this strategy is going to take several years to put into impact but will be the company’s new focus. 

Square Enix says it will focus less on mid sized games and more on AAA titles going forward.

"Focused strategy – less mid sized, more larger AAA console games, company said will take several years to impact" via @gibbogame pic.twitter.com/glQd00rvLs

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) August 7, 2023

Besides this statement, Square Enix did not reveal how this new strategy will affect the different Creative Business Units under its leadership. You see, the company’s corporate structure is divided into four main development units, with Creative Business Unit II focusing on smaller titles. This division comprises the popular “Team Asano” or as it’s known by its former corporate term, Business Division 11.

Tomoya Asano, a producer at Square Enix, is the head of this development team and has created brilliant titles like Octopath Traveler and Bravely with small budgets. Hence, fans are concerned about what this change will mean for Team Asano as the division has created some highly successful fan-favorite games over the years. As of September 2022, Octopath Traveler 1 alone has sold more than 3 million copies globally.

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On the other hand, its sequel has already surpassed one million sales just under four months after launching in February 2023. The Bravely series has also been very triumphant for Square Enix, with the collective sales of the franchise being over 3 million as of November 2021. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that fans want to see Team Asano continue making games on a smaller scale.

Hope was not the right word. Sorry. The results were in the range of their expectations, feel the penetration of PS5 performance was quite good. (as they said before when announcing the 3m number).

— David Gibson (@gibbogame) August 7, 2023

During the earnings call, Square Enix also shed some light on the performance of its most recent major AAA console title, Final Fantasy 16. According to David Gibson, the results were in the range of the developer’s expectations and it feels the penetration of the PlayStation 5 install base was quite good. Considering how the action game sold over 3 million copies in just a week on a console with 40 million users, it’s pretty impressive.

Furthermore, the analyst also revealed that the sales of Final Fantasy 16 fully expensed its cost in quarter 1, meaning any sales from this point onward will be counted as profit. With a PC port still in development and expected to release next year, the Square Enix title is assured to sell more, especially with the PlayStation 5 install base increasing every day.