Square Enix pushing forward on blockchain, AI, and the cloud.
A broken chain

In the early hours of Monday, May 2, Embracer Group announced that they had acquired several Square Enix studios as part of a $300 million (USD) deal. This deal included the acquisition of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal. It also included several popular IPs such as Deus Ex and Tomb Raider plus over 50 back-catalog titles.

Following the announcement, Square Enix released a document related to the changes coming to its subsidiaries. Squar Enix reveals that the purpose of this transaction with Embracer will allow the company to pursue some interesting new business opportunities.

The Transaction will assist the Company in adapting to the changes underway in the global business environment by establishing a more efficient allocation of resources, which will enhance corporate value by accelerating growth in the Company’s core businesses in the digital entertainment domain. In addition, the Transaction enables the launch of new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud.
Today's statement is essentially Square Enix tripling down on pushing forward with blockchain games, NFTs, and the metaverse. Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda's New Year's Day 2022 letter says that the company's growth would be focused on NFTs, blockchain games, and the metaverse. Matsuda then reiterated his interest in blockchain games in April 2022, as reported by VGC.

I eagerly await Square Enix's new initiative to flop and flop hard. Thus far, the push towards blockchain games and game-focused NFTs has gone nowhere. In some cases, it has actually gone backwards. This would also effectively ban any of these games from appearing on platforms such as Steam. Then again, with Square Enix embracing timed-exclusive platform money from Sony and Epic, they may not care about those lost sales.

This is also the same company that is disappointed by "disappointing" sales figures when a release fails to meet Square Enix's absurd expectations. This has now happened with Marvel's Avengers, the Deus Ex franchise, Just Cause 4, and even Shadow of the Tomb Raider which, despite selling over 4.12 million units, was still seen as "weak" in the eyes of Square Enix.