It looks like the days of Square Enix games being PlayStation exclusive are about to be over. After a period of financial troubles that saw the publisher cancel projects and re-evaluate its pipeline, Square Enix is now “aggressively” pursuing a multiplatform release strategy.
Did PlayStation exclusive Square Enix games bleed money?
Square Enix has been striking exclusivity deals for as long as one can remember. Popular games like Octopath Traveler were originally exclusive to Nintendo, and lest we forget, Rise of the Tomb Raider‘s timed Xbox exclusivity took everyone — including Sony — by surprise. As of late, the company has been releasing Final Fantasy games exclusively on PlayStation. But that’s all set to change.
In its newly-published business plan, Square Enix says it’ll “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs.” Its goal is to “build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles in regards to major franchises and AAA titles including catalog titles.”
Square Enix is infamous when it comes to declaring its games commercial failures. However, with AAA budgets ballooning, it’s certainly financially irresponsible to release games on specific platforms for a limited audience. Given that platform manufacturers themselves are going multiplatform, Square Enix is making a sensible move here.
