Shares for Square Enix have reportedly fallen a whopping 16 percent today to mark the biggest fall in 13 years following layoffs and disappointing sales.
The Japanese publisher has endured a bleak year with several titles not meeting expectations, president Takashi Kiryu admitted.
According to Bloomberg, Square Enix shares “fell by their daily limit” on May 14 in what has been a bleak week for the company—with Kiryu expecting it to be a long wait for the recent changes to the company to bear fruit.
The biggest change is the move away from a PlayStation-centric approach to a full commitment to multiplatform releases, having seen the likes of Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and Foamstars all disappoint.
Foamstars launched solely on PlayStation, while Final Fantasy 16 is heading to PC later this year, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will follow suit once a PlayStation timed exclusivity deal expires.
Unfortunately for former employees of the company, such changes have come too late to save some from their jobs. It was reported yesterday that layoffs were planned to fuel “long-term growth” and multiple projects were canceled to focus on quality over quantity.
By Kiryu’s own admission, Square Enix’s “winning formula is no longer effective” and the company took a “long time to adjust the course.” While the changes could lead to improvements, it’s unlikely to result in the next fiscal year being a success.
According to Square Enix’s own release schedule, only two titles currently have a confirmed release period for 2024, with Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail slated to arrive in summer 2024 and Octopath Traveler 2 set to be released before the end of the year.
Other titles in development include Dying Light 2, Visions of Mana, and Kingdom Hearts 4, but they’re yet to receive a release window. And the fact they weren’t outlined in the recent earnings call makes a launch before the end of March 2025 extremely unlikely.
