By Sagar V. Mankar Square Enix has released its financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2025, covering April through September 2024. The report reveals a mixed performance across its digital entertainment division, with MMO success offsetting slower console game sales.
What’s Driving Square Enix’s MMO Success?
The MMO subsector emerged as a standout performer, with impressive year-on-year growth:
- Net sales increased 35.5% to 32.4 billion yen
- Operating income rose 40.8% to 13.1 billion yen
Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion pack, launched on July 2, 2024, was the primary driver behind this growth, although other titles like Dragon Quest X Online also contributed to the subsector’s performance.
Why Did Overall Gaming Sales Decline?
The company’s recent console releases failed to match the high sales benchmarks set by Final Fantasy XVI and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series from the previous year. However, despite lower net sales in the gaming sector, operating income showed improvement, thanks to:
- Reduced development cost amortization
- Lower advertising expenses
- Strong performance from the MMO division
How Did the Merchandising Division Perform?
The merchandising segment showed remarkable growth:
- Net sales: 9,605 million yen (up 14.7% year-on-year)
- Operating income: 3,384 million yen (up 80.9% year-on-year)
This success was driven by strong sales of character goods from major IPs, including:
- New releases in the Final Fantasy BringArts series
- Additions to the PlayArts figure line
- Popular NieR: Automata figures
What’s Next for Square Enix?
Following a challenging previous fiscal year (April 2023 to March 2024) marked by underperforming titles like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Foamstars, Square Enix is implementing strategic changes:
- Shifting focus to multiplatform releases
- Adopting a “quality over quantity” approach to game development
- New mid-term business plan spanning March 2025 to 2027
For more information, visit the official Square Enix investor relations website.
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