The house of Final Fantasy is seeing less than stellar results in 2018. In a recently published financial report published, Square Enix shared large financial losses totaling $33 million. These range for the half year ending on September 30. This includes the release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Switch exclusive RPG Octopath Traveler and Life is Strange 2. Rather than blaming any of its releases for the loss, the company has pointed to a shift in priorities for Luminous Productions, which opened earlier this year.
Luminous Productions’ staff consists of a good portion of the Final Fantasy XV team. Their original goal was to create AAA experiences and “other entertainment content.” In today’s statement, Square reaffirmed that the studio was focusing on a future AAA games title. This means that the “other content” may have been dropped after a reevaluation. Final Fantasy XV famously had a prequel film that later became integrated into the game via the Royal Edition. One could assume that there was a similar transmedia production in development for whatever Luminous is working on.
As for Square Enix’s other releases, the company chose not to share any sales numbers. We do know that Shadow of the Tomb Raider saw heavy discounts soon after release. This caused issues of review bombings on Steam, mostly from customers who paid full price for the game weeks prior to the sale. The game also saw slower physical sales in the UK than prior games in the series.
Other causes of the financial setbacks laid out in Square Enix’s report include a decrease in licensing fees. The report also points to sluggish merchandising sales and slow business with amusement machines. The company is still hopeful when it comes to net sales for the full fiscal year, which ends on March 31. Future titles coming from the company include Just Cause 4, Kingdom Hearts III, and the recently released The Quiet Man.
