Square Enix has announced that it “expects to recognize extraordinary losses” for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, attributing them as “content abandonment losses”. The Japanese company has, in other words, cancelled undisclosed projects, owing to which it will incur losses amounting to ¥22.1 billion (roughly $140.4 million).
The company says it cancelled said projects due to “myriad changes underway” in the games industry environment, and has reiterated that it intends to be much more selective about which projects it greenlights and chooses to focus on going forward.
“At the meeting convened on March 27, 2024, the Board of Directors of Square Enix Holdings voted, in light of the myriad changes underway in the environment surrounding its Group, to revise the Group’s approach to the development of high-definition (HD) games with the intention of being more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources,” the company says. “As a result of a close examination of the Group’s development pipeline undertaken in keeping with this revised approach, the Company expects to recognize approximately ¥22.1 billion in content abandonment losses on its books for the fiscal year ended March 2024.”
As you might expect, no mention has been made of which projects specifically were cancelled.
Square Enix’s last major release was Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Releasing in February exclusively for PS5, the open world action RPG was met with widespread critical acclaim, though industry analysts have said that it has sold lower than expected.
Square Enix will also release Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail this summer, while the company also has Kingdom Hearts 4 and Dragon Quest 12: The Flames of Fate in development, though release dates haven’t been announced for either of them yet. Recent reports have suggested that Kingdom Hearts 4 is targeting 2025 release, but that Dragon Quest 12 has faced production issues and delays behind the scenes.
Meanwhile, work is also underway on Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 (or whatever the trilogy’s final instalment ends up being called). Producer Yoshinori Kitase recently suggested that the game was targeting 2027 launch.