Forspoken hasn’t performed the way Square Enix had hoped when it comes to sales.
The first game from the company’s Luminous Productions studio, Forspoken has seen “lackluster” sales. The comment came via Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda during a recent financials call. Matsuda also said that the sales performance of the game coincides with mixed reviews from both critics and consumers.
“Reviews of Forspoken, which we released on January 24, 2023, have been challenging,” the company says. “However, the game has also received positive feedback on its action features, including its parkour and combat capabilities, so it has yielded results that will lead to improvement of our development capabilities of other games in the future.”
The report continued: “That said, its sales have been lackluster, and while the performance of new titles with February and March release dates will be the ultimate determinant, we see considerable downside risk to our FY2023/3 earnings.”
What Happens In The Future?
Less than two months after the game’s launch, it was confirmed by the company that Luminous Productions would be merged into Square Enix. The company said at the time that merger was to “further bolster the competitive prowess of the Group’s development studios”.
“[Square Enix] has developed numerous AAA high-definition (HD) games and possesses a wealth of intellectual property (IP) and content,” the merger announced reads. “Luminous Productions Co., Ltd. is meanwhile equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.”
You can read the full financial report for yourself, courtesy of Square Enix. It was also recently announced by Matsuda that the company has plans to launch blockchain games over the next fiscal year.
What did you think of Forspoken? Square Enix’s next major title, Final Fantasy XVI, is scheduled to launch this June.
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