Square Enix revealed interesting details about its plans. The gaming giant revealed in its Q1 earnings that it would expand NFTs into more game products as part of its business strategy in 2022.
Gaming giant Square Enix is a Japanese game developer with $3 billion in assets under management, based on the information taken from its latest earnings report. The company owns the Final Fantasy property.
It sold the Tomb Raider franchise for $300 million. The major developer of Tomb Raider is the gaming giant’s subsidiary Crystal Dynamics, which generated more than $90 million, more precisely $92 million in revenue in its fiscal year ending March 2021. Apart from Tomb Raider, Crystal Dynamics, as well as Eidos Interactive, another subsidiary to be divested, hold intellectual properties for titles such as Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain.
Since its inception in 1996, the above-mentioned franchise has sold over 88 million units. About 40% of the sales came from the franchise rebooted trilogy consisting of Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, as well as Shadows of the Tomb Raider, with the rest coming from sales of the original game. Moreover, the franchise saw more than 53 million paid mobile downloads from games such as Lara Croft: Relic Run.
Square Enix and NFTs
According to the company’s latest earnings report, Square Enix piloted NFTs on the Shi-San-Sei Million Arthur game starting in February of 2022. More importantly, the success of the pilot program will lead to the second season of the game NFTs and will eventually see Square Enix pursue broader activities in the NFT industry as well as the blockchain industry.
Among the main priorities of its blockchain domain initiatives, the company plans to establish regulatory clarity and guidelines for blockchain games.
The gaming giant also stated it plans to establish an entity in a foreign country. It will handle “issuing, managing, and investing our own tasks,” suggesting Square Enix will begin creating an expansive gaming-token economy.
The company has been working with Animoca Brands to explore its options in the blockchain gaming space. Cooperation between Square Enix and Animoca Brands is expected to grow as Square Enix delves further into the ecosystem.
Animoca’s executive chairman Yat Siu made an interesting comment. He believes Square Enix’s influence in gaming will only help the company form a foothold in blockchain gaming.
Gaming giant and its CEO Yosuke Matsuda
Square Enix’s CEO Yosuke Matsuda revealed the company’s intentions for blockchain and NFT spheres in his new year’s message on the first day of 2022. In his letter, the company’s CEO begins with a discussion of the metaverse before noting that Facebook’s renaming to Meta is proof that the concept isn’t a passing fad.
Yosuke Matsuda expects 2022 to be a year of hype for the metaverse as society begins to slowly embrace virtual worlds and their ability to connect individuals across geographical boundaries.
It is hard not to agree with him, as more and more people embrace new technologies.
Square Enix clearly understands the importance of NFTs. If you wish to read more about NFTs, read this review Panini NFT.
