It seems that despite the recent calamitous crash of NFTs, Square Enix is still adamant on maintaining its NFT strategy, reportedly stating that they now want to focus on “story-focused” NFTs. This comes from the company’s 2022 Shareholders’ Meeting Report, as reported by michsuzuki.

According to the report, the publisher is planning to move forward with its proposed integration of NFTs and blockchain technology into game development. Though, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda has also stated that “it’s still too early to consider making Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy blockchain games”.

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The report affirms Square Enix’s commitment to blockchain technology but its unclear where the publisher will focus its efforts to start off with, as the report only mentions that the “development of blockchain games and entertainment products” is a medium-term goal, meaning we could only see any input after a couple of years. Though, we still aren’t clear what a “story-focused” NFT actually is, and the report does nothing to clarify it either.

Square Enix also sold off Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal (developers behind games like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Guardians of the Galaxy) in order to fund their investments into blockchain technology, AI and the cloud. These studios essentially handled all of Square Enix’s single-player titles – clarified to mean non-live service, and offline experiences – which despite achieving fan favourites, Square Enix deemed “non-performing”.

The Embracer Group picked up all three studios from Square Enix for a meager $300 million (for what they are getting in return, its a steal), along with their catalogue of IPs. The only IPs that Square Enix retained from the sale included Life is Strange, Outriders and Just Cause, although this is just for the publishing rights.

Just one week after the sale of their Western studios, Square Enix also announced that they would be buying or creating new studios that seem to be more aligned with their investments and vision such as blockchain.

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