Square Enix Says It Bought Its Western Studios Out of Gross sales Cannibalization Concern

Square Enix stunned everybody when it determined to promote its Western studios (Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal) to the Embracer Group for the comparatively low sum of $300 million.

Shortly after that announcement, the Japanese firm shared a press launch laying down the first motives behind the sale: a extra environment friendly allocation of assets and the launch of recent companies by moving ahead with investments in fields together with blockchain, AI, and the cloud.

However, as a part of the quarterly report printed as we speak, Square Enix executives mentioned the matter as soon as once more through the convention name. As reported by analysts David Gibson and Serkan Toto, this time they mentioned the sale occurred as a result of Square Enix feared titles from Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montréal would cannibalize gross sales for the remainder of the corporate.

Square Enix says they offered Crystal Dynamics and Eidos as a result of they feared gross sales from these 2 studios would cannibalize gross sales of the remainder of the corporate.

Who is so dumb to consider this entire and utter BS? https://t.co/DZUxZyipji

— Dr. Serkan Toto / Kantan Games Inc. (@serkantoto) August 5, 2022

It is a somewhat bizarre cause, to make sure. If something, the video games made by these studios in franchises like Deus Ex, Thief, Tomb Raider, et cetera supplied a pleasant diversification of the general Square Enix portfolio. They additionally bolstered the writer’s launch output when the Japanese divisions have been repeatedly compelled to delay video games (Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII Remake particularly come to thoughts).

Of course, the present Square Enix pipeline is brimming with video games. Live A Live simply launched, quickly to be adopted by Valkyrie Elysium, Star Ocean: The Divine Force, Dragon Quest Treasures, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Reunion, Forspoken, Final Fantasy XVI, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. That mentioned, such a bountiful roadmap will inevitably dry up within the subsequent couple of years, which is when the writer may have used some output from its former Western studios.

It appears extra doubtless that Square Enix is certainly making ready to get purchased by an organization like Sony, as surmised by many within the trade.