After asking 80 employees to resign voluntarily, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius developer turns around financial deficit for the first time in over a year 

Japanese developer Gumi, known for titles such as Aster Tatariqus and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, announced a significant increase in sales and operating profit in the last fiscal quarter. This has turned around a deficit that the company has been facing for the past five quarters (source: Otaku Souken). 

When we last looked at Gumi in June this year, the developer had posted a yearly net loss of around $38 million, largely associated with the poor performance of their mobile RPG Aster Tatariqus. To deal with the financial losses, the company announced changes in its development policy as well as workforce downsizing. 

This included laying off staff in overseas offices as well as offering buyouts to staff in Japan, where mass layoffs are not possible due to labor laws. Gumi offered beneficial retirement packages and outplacement support to employees who volunteered to resign. 

In their latest financial update, Gumi reveals that 80 people have accepted the conditions and resigned, which cost the company an extraordinary loss of about $615k. The company also backtracked on its underperforming titles, announcing that Aster Tatariqus servers will be shut down on September 30. 

Gumi saw sales from their mobile games increase, and profits were further boosted by the company’s crypto and blockchain-related businesses. The company plans to announce a new game based on the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure IP in the near future.