Today's breaking gaming news that Square Enix sold its internal Western developers (Eidos Montréal, Square Enix Montréal, and Crystal Dynamics) to the Embracer Group for $300 million was followed by a press release shared by the Japanese company, which includes financial details and the rationale behind the move.
The Japanese company said it aims to focus on blockchain, AI, and cloud from now on, just as mentioned last week by Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda, who highlighted the importance of blockchain and play to earn to incentivize the creation of user-generated content. Square Enix will also continue publishing Western franchises such as Just Cause (Avalanche), Outriders (People Can Fly), and Life is Strange (Dontnod, Deck Nine).
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. The move is based on the policy of business structure optimization that the Company set forth under the medium-term business strategy unveiled on May 13, 2021.The Transaction will also provide an opportunity to better align our overseas publishing function with our organization in Tokyo, revisit the current governance structure and associated reporting lines, and advance integrated group management with the goal of maximizing the worldwide revenue generated from future titles launched by the group’s studios in Japan and abroad.
Going forward, the Company’s development function will comprise its studios in Japan, Square Enix External Studios, and Square Enix Collective. The Company’s overseas studios will continue to publish franchises such as JUST CAUSE, OUTRIDERS, and Life is Strange.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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