Square Enix sales fell in the last quarter, but the company is not peaking with profits

While net sales fell 15.5%, the company saw a 45% increase in profit.

Square Enix Crystal Dynamics has been prominent in exclusive news for several days for its latest decisions, including the sale of Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal to the Embracer Group. Rumors suggest that this could trigger a future acquisition of the company by Sony, but right now we don’t have anything more than that. unconfirmed speculation.

Square Enix posted a 45% increase in profits in the last quarterWhat we do know is that Square Enix ended the last quarter with the most diverse numbers. The company’s net sales fell, according to data provided by GamesIndustry. 15.5% in the last few months, which means: 74.8 billion yen ($553 million). However, this decline is offset by an increase in profits. Four five% compared to last year’s earnings 18.4 billion yen ($136 million).

On the other hand, Square Enix’s earnings report also mentions digital entertainment net sales. 23% Compared to last year’s figures (53.6 billion yen / $397 million) and the entertainment segment’s net sales growing year over year %27 (12 billion yen / 89 million dollars).

Video game net sales plunge 52.2%To look at these numbers in detail, we must remember that Square Enix has divided its Digital Entertainment division into different sub-sectors: HD Games (classic editions), MMOs, and mobile and PC browser titles. Starting with the first group, it should be noted that lack of strong pitches draws attention with a decrease in the last quarter. 52.2% in net sales (12 billion yen / 89 million dollars). After all, this same period has yielded more positive results due to the premiere of installments like Nier: Replicant or RPG Outriders in 2021.

In terms of revenue from titles for mobile and PC browsers, it’s worth noting that the Japanese company lives on. 17% drop (27.3 billion yen / $202 million). This subsector only saw the release of the free-to-play Echoes of Mana game in the last quarter, and while Square Enix considered it a “strong start”, it failed to make up for the “poor performance” of other sub-sectors. games.

Final Fantasy XIV user numbers keep growingWhile the numbers presented so far are not entirely positive, the picture changes with MMOs. The income of this sub-sector was recorded 20.7% increase Square Enix says Final Fantasy XIV user count compared to figures shown in 2021 (14,000 million yen / $104 million) Does not stop growing.

However, it is also important to note that the distributor sells. 4.28 million copies the number of video games during the quarter, which includes both physical and digital titles. When focusing on their performance relative to results achieved in the previous year, this means: a 57% drop in Japanese company.

While Square Enix has provided a fairly complete report, it assures its western developers that due to the aforementioned sale, it will finish communicating its next targets and forecasts as soon as they can be “reasonably calculated”. slight delay in preparing these estimates. On the other hand, it should be noted that Square Enix plans to sell shares in its studios, so we can expect more news from the Japanese distributor in the coming months.