This is the same company that once claimed selling 7.5 million copies of Tomb Raider didn’t meet their expectations. Square Enix can complain all they want, but their own questionable decisions have led them to where they are today.
Look at the track record:
1. Marvel’s Avengers (2020)
Despite the hype around the Marvel brand, this game was criticized for repetitive gameplay and a lackluster story. Sure, it had decent early sales, but it quickly lost player engagement, leading to a significant financial loss.
2. The Quiet Man (2018)
This was just a disaster, with its confusing mechanics and bizarre design choices, like removing dialogue from gameplay. It was no surprise that it flopped in sales.
3. Left Alive (2019)
Poor gameplay, bad AI, and a weak story—Left Alive was widely panned and failed commercially almost from the start.
4. Babylon’s Fall (2022)
Another collaboration gone wrong. The live-service model, repetitive gameplay, and poor visuals didn’t help. The game tanked so hard that Square Enix shut down its servers less than a year after launch.
5. Balan Wonderworld (2021)
A clunky 3D platformer that, despite being led by Yuji Naka of Sonic fame, felt outdated and unpolished. It was another commercial failure.
6. Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (2016)
While not as bad as the others, this game still disappointed fans with its weak story and shallow combat. Sales didn’t live up to expectations.
These games highlight a pattern of mismanagement—failed attempts to balance long-running franchises with new IPs.
And yet, some console fans want to blame Sony, ignoring the fact that Square has way more exclusives on Nintendo. Let’s not forget that they sold some of their strongest IPs and a talented studio for just $300 million—during a time when acquisitions were booming and Bungie went for $3.6 billion. The studio behind Deus Ex and Tomb Raider, gone. And before that, they let the Hitman studio walk away with the IP!
People are pushing this narrative that Square’s issues are tied to Sony, but in reality, they’re like the Ubisoft of Japan—mismanaged and barely holding it together. They were almost acquired by Sony, for crying out loud.
And let’s not ignore the fact that without PlayStation, there wouldn’t be a Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. Sony fronted the cost, so Square didn’t have to take much of a risk. The real problem is Square’s unrealistic expectations
