Discussing their financials results released earlier this month, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda commented on the above slide featuring Final Fantasy VII Remake, Kingdom Hearts III, and their Marvel IP License, saying, “This slide shows our release lineup for FY2017/3 as well as for FY2018/3 and beyond. We plan to launch each of these upcoming titles in the next three years or so.”
Elsewhere in the briefing, Matsuda said Final Fantasy XV was the greatest contributor to earnings for the HD Games sub-segment, more than 20% of FFXV sales in North America came digitally, sales of Rise of the Tomb Raider for PlayStation 4 were “brisk,” and NieR: Automata generated sales “significantly above our plan.”
Square Enix also noted that they think the Games as a Service model will be the future for mainstream gaming:
Titles that have become global hits recently have tended to be offered via the “Games as a Service” model, and we believe this is going to be the mainstream model for gaming in the future. In developing future titles, we will approach game design with a mind to generate recurring revenue streams.
The decision to sell Hitman developer Io-Interactive was also addressed, and Square Enix said they’re looking at potential new investors who will keep the development of Hitman going:
Our decision to withdraw from the IO Interactive A/S business was the result of a review of our portfolio that we conducted as part of our effort to concentrate our resources in order to strengthen our development capabilities.
Because the firm is engaged in the development of Hitman and other renowned titles, we are negotiating with prospective external investors capable of ensuring that these titles carry on.
When do you think we’ll see Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Hearts III?
[Source: Square Enix via Gematsu]
