{"id":30846,"date":"2024-05-14T18:31:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T09:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=30846"},"modified":"2024-05-15T14:15:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T05:15:17","slug":"square-enix-cancelled-games-mostly-slated-for-release-in-march-2027-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/square-enix-cancelled-games-mostly-slated-for-release-in-march-2027-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Square Enix\u2019s cancelled games were mostly slated for release in March 2027 and beyond\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Square Enix\u2019s new 3-year business plan for March 2025 to March 2027 reveals that many of the company\u2019s cancelled games were set to be released in or after March 2027. The hints provided in the plan, made public on May 13, have led to much speculation among Japanese commenters as to which titles have been shelved. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Square Enix revealed that they faced issues last year with games \u201ccannibalizing\u201d each other, due to releasing too many titles in quick succession. They also announced that platform-exclusive titles, such as the PS5-only games Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth did not sell as well as forecast. In addition, Bloomberg<\/a> reported that PlayStation exclusive Foamstars, a new Splatoon-like IP developed by outside studio Toylogic, failed to meet expected sales targets. As a result, Square Enix\u2019s new mid-term plan \u201caggressively\u201d pursues multiplatform releases with a focus on developing a smaller number of titles than before (Related Article<\/a>), favoring a \u201cdisciplined pipeline strategy\u201d of quality over quantity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Square
Screenshots from Square Enix’s New Medium-term Business Plan (FY2025\/3-FY2027\/3) (source: pdf<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Square Enix has reported 38.8 billion yen in extraordinary losses from cancelling games in-development as part of their new business strategy. Furthermore, they revealed on page 16<\/a> of the mid-term business plan that most of the cancelled games were scheduled to be released in March 2027 and beyond, explaining that \u201cany impact on our income statements during this medium-term business plan (3\/2025~3\/2027) will be minimal\u201d. The fact that Square Enix did not specify which titles had been cancelled led to a flurry of speculation among commenters on Japanese forums and social media, with many concerned about the fate of Dragon Quest 12 and future Final Fantasy titles. Some even jokingly suggested<\/a> that the final part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy would be released as a novel.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Square<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, a report by Bloomberg<\/a> today has confirmed that Dragon Quest 12 is still under development and that despite initial sales being lower than expected, Square Enix remains confident about FF16 achieving its targets over the 18-month period. In addition, Square Enix\u2019s mid-term business strategy emphasizes<\/a> expanding and retaining \u201cfan bases for our major franchises,\u201d as well as to \u201cexplore additionally leveraging our Group\u2019s rich library of IP.\u201d This suggests that Square Enix will still focus on its well-known and beloved intellectual properties (such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest). It is more likely that the cancelled titles are so-called SD (Standard Definition) games (which experienced a slowdown last year)<\/a> and AAA titles not deemed viable under Square Enix\u2019s plan to deliver \u201censured ‘Fun.’\u201d With Square Enix\u2019s new mid-term business plan focusing on in-house development, it is possible that some of the cancelled projects were unannounced games by outside studios.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Square<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Square Enix’s cancellation of games set to release in 2027 and beyond sparks concerns among fans of the company’s IPs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":30794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-30846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nSquare Enix\u2019s cancelled games were mostly slated for release in March 2027 and beyond\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Square Enix's cancellation of games set to release in 2027 and beyond sparks concerns among fans of the company's IPs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/square-enix-cancelled-games-mostly-slated-for-release-in-march-2027-and-beyond\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Square Enix\u2019s cancelled games were mostly slated for release in March 2027 and beyond\u00a0 - 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