Square Enix sure are giving Bandai Namco a run for their money when it comes to terminating live service games that seemingly fail to produce enough profits via microtransactions.
We’ve already establish that Square Enix are in a terrible position from an economic standpoint, given that the company formally adheres to western social standards as a firm supporter of ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance), perpetrated by BlackRock and Vanguard, ESG results in pledges for diversity and inclusivity, resulting in the censorship of femininity and or “problematic” content.
Such as what Square Enix have done to Dragon Quest Monsters 3, among many other prehistoric titles and IPs re-released over the last few years with blatant censorship laced throughout.
Pixelated panties are certainly a big “yikes” according to so called “modern audiences” comprised entirely of left-leaning parasites who browse Twitter 24/7.
Regardless, due to their allegiances towards diversity and inclusivity thanks to the wonders of ESG, Square Enix video games of late have been immense failures in terms of revenue, given that the company outright sold their western studios including the Deus Ex and Tomb Raider IPs to the Embracer Group for a meager $300 million dollars, the only thing of value Square Enix even retains now would be Final Fantasy.
A franchise that is slowly but surely dying.
It doesn’t really matter if Square Enix continues to bastardize their main cash cow, with each progressive installment being far worse than the last, with their latest release, Final Fantasy 16 featuring a wholesome kissing scene between two men, while Final Fantasy 7’s alleged “remake” which is being split into no less than three individual installments continues to make bank despite being radically altered from the original to suit modern audiences of smooth brained consumers.
Aside from Final Fantasy, Square Enix deploys a near endless supply of GaaS mobile games to hopefully generate a passive income, which they most certainly need considering the catastrophic flop that was Forspoken, a game that failed to meet expectations so harsh that it outright killed the studio that developed it, Luminous Productions mere months after release.
Square’s Q3 earnings report showcased a daunting reality, with their net sales having increased over the last two previous years however at the cost of a monstrous 33% decline year-over-year in operating income, attributed by increased game development costs and diminishing sales.
Monetized mobile games are certainly a nice pony trick to possibly generate vast riches at frequent intervals, the immense popularity of new established franchises such as Azur Lane and Blue Archive prove this especially, however the one caveat that Square Enix seemingly cannot follow due to their shackles of ESG woke indoctrinaction.
Mobile games such as Blue Archive are actually engaging for the player or at the very least sells itself towards its consumers with an abundance of gorgeous women.
Square Enix suffered a 40% drop YoY in income associated with mobile gacha games for the third quarter and when a live service title fails to meet financial expectations the result is always the same.
Square Enix has a tendency to discontinue mobile games that fail to generate significant profits. In the current year alone, Square Enix shut down its Echoes of Mana mobile game on its one-year anniversary.
Additionally, the Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero’s Bond mobile game, which went live in September 2021, was shut down by Square Enix on April 26th this year.
Another casualty was Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier, a mobile game spinoff released on November 17, 2021, which met its unfortunate end on January 11th, 2023, as Square Enix decided to terminate it.
Just a month ago actually, Square Enix announced that it would also be terminating services for Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia on February 29, 2024, this game however has stood a considerable amount of time by Square Enix’s standards, with the game originally going live back in January 2018.
Dragon Quest Tact will also be shutting down, or rather its Western localized rendition that is. A very common phenomenon if we’re being honest, if a live service title fails catastrophically in the west it is almost certain to have the plug pulled roughly a year or thereabouts after release, surprisingly though its Western release launched back in January 2021 while its initial JP release was back in July 2020, the game lasted almost three years in the west which is a tremendous achievement.
And now they’re at it again, with Square Enix formally shutting down two mobile games simultaneously as Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile and Engage Kill will both be terminated.
Engage Kill, a game based on Engage Kiss, is set to shut down on March 21, 2024, only a year after its launch in Japan on March 1, 2023. Similarly, Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile will be closing its doors on March 29, 2024, just 19 months after its release on August 4, 2022.
Sales of in-game currency for both games have been discontinued with immediate effect, and any remaining unused currency at the end of the service will be refunded, providing a positive gesture to players.
The developers have committed to organizing events until the closure of the games. For Fullmetal Alchemist, these will include reruns, and the remaining storyline will be delivered through streamed voice dramas scheduled between January and March 2024.
Square Enix is in a horrible place, as previously established by the fact that they are mercilessly bastardizing one of the greatest video games of all time, Final Fantasy VII with horrid remakes laced with censorship and “modernized” touches, going as far as to remove the “slum drunk” insult towards Aeris.
These past few years Square Enix have showcased nothing but woke inclusive ignorance, they continually dig themselves into this hole and outright refuse consumer assistance to hoist them back up, what with the company continually re-packaging long since abandoned IPs only to radically censor them to make BlackRock happy, snubbing the fans who as a result turn their backs against one of the most infamous gaming tyrants.
No doubt assisted by the fact that Square Enix gets a pittance from Sony for limited time console exclusivity dealings, before the game itself lands on PC anywhere from 6-18 months afterwards, with the major catch being that Square Enix are once again paid handsomely by Tim Sweeny for limited time exclusivity dealings on the Epic Game Store.
What’s there to even say at this point, Square Enix fell off after the merger between Squaresoft and Enix. Their only financial salvation comes in the form of endlessly milking the Final Fantasy franchise, despite the dwindling sales versus prior installments.
As the year draws to a close, to round out 2023, Square Enix have effectively killed off three mobile live service titles, and over the past 30 days they’ve announced the demise of FOUR more mobile games to be shut down for good as well.
Look forward to Square Enix killing off more of its failing arsenal of mobile games next year, as the company slowly but surely leans itself towards bankruptcy over the next decade.
