(CTN News) – People present at the event reported that Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu stated that layoffs would be implemented in both the American and European divisions of the company. These layoffs are scheduled to take place over the course of the following month.
There was no information provided regarding the magnitude of the layoffs; nevertheless, employees were informed that those who work in publishing, information technology, and Square Enix’s Collective indie games subsidiary will be the most affected.
The staff has been advised that those who are affected will be informed this week. those in the United Kingdom will be required to undergo a one-month consulting process in accordance with the local employment rules, whilst those situated in the United States may be fired prior to the month of June.
VGC was informed that subsequent to the internal discussions that took place on Monday, a significant number of Square Enix’s primary Slack channels were shut.
Today, Square Enix announced that it intends to “rebuild overseas business divisions from the ground up” and has “begun optimizing costs at its European and American offices via structural reforms.” The layoffs occurred at the same time as the publication of the company’s quarterly financial results, which took place today.
Square Enix has been contacted by VGC for a comment regarding this article.
Kiryu, who was named as the new boss of the Final Fantasy company in June 2023, has been implementing a large-scale reorganization of Square Enix’s development activities. This is being done in an effort to reverse the recent dismal sales of the company’s most popular titles.
According to Bloomberg, Square Enix has promoted a new group of creators to its executive officers in Japan. Additionally, the company established checks on the power that producers have on specific projects.
A new medium-term business strategy was published by Square Enix earlier today. In it, the company disclosed that it intends to make their AAA games available on several platforms in the future.
The plan, which the publisher has referred to as “Square Enix Reboots and Awakens,” outlines a three-year approach that the company thinks would result in “long-term growth.”
The most recent financial results of Square Enix revealed that the company’s profits had decreased by about 70 percent compared to the previous year. This decline can be attributed, in part, to “the recognition of ¥22,087 million ($141 million) in losses on disposal of content as an extraordinary loss.”
According to the company, these losses are a result of the cancellation of initiatives that do not align with its future plans. The company speculated that these projects may have been dependent on a single platform or relied excessively on developers from outside an organization.
In a statement, Square Enix stated that going ahead, the company will “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and personally owned computers.”
According to the statement, it will be able to “build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles in regards to major franchises and AAA titles, including catalogue titles” if it takes this course of action.
Despite the fact that they are not specifically included in the plan, recent Final Fantasy games such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 16, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have all been released exclusively for the PlayStation 5 (PS5). It has been asserted that sales of the latter releases have been disappointing.
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