news business Square-Enix: Selling its Western Studios for $300M, but for what?
Many questions have arisen following this morning’s announcement of Embracer Group’s acquisition of Square-Enix’s Western Studios. Some people see this as a future possibility for the Japanese publisher to be bought out by Sony. Others believe that Final Fantasy license owners have lost their way and that it’s high time they focused on what they do best: Japanese games. If a bit of all of that is in Square-Enix’s intentions, that’s not the sole reason for this unexpected acquisition.
In fact, the president of the Japanese group, Yosuke Matsuda, confided last January that Square-Enix was very interested in blockchain and NFTs. The latter, in this open letter published on the official website, hinted that a long-term investment was possible. Today, the sale of Square-Enix Montreal, Eidos, and Crystal Dynamics is part of that logic.
$300 million in NFTs?
Through a communique Square-Enix formalizes the sale of its three western studios and clarifies its intentions, and they are clear. Even though the $300 million from the sale won’t go entirely to the blockchain, it appears that a large portion of the sum is dedicated to this investment.
This transaction will help the company adapt to ongoing changes in the global business environment by establishing a more efficient allocation of resources that will enhance shareholder value by accelerating the growth of its core entertainment business. In addition, the transaction will create new companies by driving investments in areas such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud.
On the other hand, and even if the project remains mysterious, we have no trouble surmising that Square-Enix is about to invest in anything dematerialization-related, and NFTs are clearly part of the equation. We don’t know how that will play out in the future, but it’s likely that we’ll be witnessing a big change in the historic studio.
par ayden_Journalist igamesnews.com
MP
