After sales fell short of publisher expectations, Square Enix seems more determined than ever to review its policies for distributing the next Final Fantasy games.
Although sales of Final Fantasy 16 and FF7 Rebirth started well, they have apparently slowed a bit too much for the liking of Square Enix, which had higher forecasts. To improve the company’s profitability and ensure that it continues to achieve its goals in the future, the publisher has a solution: the definitive adoption of a multiplatform strategy. Logically, all future episodes of the saga should be playable everywhere. A complete end to the exclusive rights for the license? Expect a big change for future games.
The end of PlayStation exclusives for Final Fantasy?
Sales of the latest Final Fantasy games like FF16 and FF7 Rebirth are a disappointment for Square Enix. “ We have released several major HD games such as Rebirth and Episode 16A license, but unfortunately the income does not meet our expectations » explained the company in its financial report published at the beginning of the school year. But it is not the first time that the company has expressed its disappointment and even announced a major change last May. It now wants these productions to land on all platforms and has proven this in recent weeks with the releases of Final Fantasy 14 on Xbox and the FF Pixel Remaster compilation on the American console.
In the future, Square Enix probably does not intend to reverse course, but on the contrary to continue this multiplatform policy. « This time we will also release the Xbox Series X|S version at the same time. In the future, Square Enix productions will increasingly be released simultaneously on each platform » said Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida during an interview ahead of the release of Fantasian Neo Dimension.
Will Final Fantasy 17 be available on Xbox Series/Xbox Series 2 in addition to PS5/PS6 when it releases? This new explanation clearly leaves the door open for such a scenario. Additionally, Yoshi-P also reiterated his desire to port FF16 to the Xbox Series, although he is currently unable to say more.
Source: 4Gamer.
