According to Square Enix, major releases like 2023’s Final Fantasy XVI and this March’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth failed to reach the publisher’s sales projections.
President Takashi Kiryu admitted this during a financial briefing from May recently made public (and spotted by Eurogamer). In that briefing, Kiryu said initial sales for Rebirth, and February’s Foamstars, “were not as strong as expected.”
While Square’s HD games sub-segment saw ¥99.2 billion in net sales for the fourth quarter of 2023-2024’s fiscal year (up ¥20.7 billion from the previous year), an “impairment” to the content production account led to an operating loss of ¥8.1 billion, over double from the prior year.
Square Enix has been vague on Rebirth’s commercial performance but previously indicated Final Fantasy XVI underperformed to some degree. This briefing underlines its decision in May to pivot from timed console exclusives to focus on multiplatform titles and “unforgettable experiences.”
It also puts into perspective the shift away from outsourcing in favor of internal development, making fewer (but better quality) games overall and turning Foamstars into a free-to-play title in October.
While both Final Fantasy games were underperformers at the time, it appears they did quite well in Square Enix’s merchandising department. It cited those two as part of why the business posted ¥18.9 billion in net sales, up ¥3.3 billion from last year.
The second quarter of 2024-2025’s fiscal year ends on September 30, which means Kiryu will provide new comments on Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI (the latter of which released on PC this week), and if their sales have improved since May.