Square Enix sells western studios for $300 million to invest in NFTs

square invest into nfts featured

It seems that Square Enis believes that NFTs are the future, as the company announced yesterday that three of their western studios are being sold for a total of $300 million for Embracer Group, owner of THQ Nordic, in order to fully dive into the blockchain.

Embracer Group now owns Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal, and has obtained the rights for popular franchises such as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex. The negotiation should be fully concluded until September. Square Enix Montréal will, probably, also have its name changed.

square invest into nfts deus ex
Credit: Square Enix

What’s the future for the studios?

There’s no need to worry, as Embracer Co-Founder and CEO Lars Wingeford declared that they “recognize the fantastic IP, world-class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades”. Fans should expect new titles for some of the beloved franchises those studios provided.

Also, Embracer’s press release assured that upcoming games such as the next Tomb Raider title developed on Unreal Engine 5 will not be canceled or delayed, and all of the developers working on the studios will make a transition to their new group.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider art
Credit: Square Enix

Why is Square selling those studios?

The negotiated studios were all western parts of the Square Enix group, which shows that they might be planning to focus even more on their eastern titles, such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. They might not abandon all of their western studios, but selling some of their biggest ones is not the best way to invest in them.

Yosuke Matsuda, Square Enix director, also recently said that eastern games shouldn’t be based around western games, as they wouldn’t be any good if developed in that way. So the selling could also be a way of separating both styles, and focusing on creating a “fixed identity” for Square games.

READ MORE: Is crypto gaming the future of video games?

Square Enix planning to invest in NFTs

Aside from focusing on its eastern public, the recent declarations from Matsuda might contain the answer for the selling, as the company also declared that this transaction “enables the launch of new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud.”

Matsuda said in a new year’s letter that he firmly believes in the metaverse and the blockchain succeeding in the long term, and how he saw 2021 as “NFTs: Year One”.

So one of the biggest reasons for the selling was that Square is planning to invest into NFTs. Having Embracer acquire their studios also avoids having backlash from fans for “canceling their franchises”.

square invest into nfts embracer
Credit: Embracer

The NFT market had a huge boom during 2021, and while most of its hype might not be as strong as it was, many important names are also supporting it and see them as a new way of creating art. Games based around the blockchain are also frequently discussed, and it seems that Square might be taking their first step into developing more of those.

But for those who dislike NFTs, don’t worry, as most of the older Square Enix games will probably not be affected by them. 

In a recent Live Letter for Final Fantasy XIV, director and developer Naoki Yoshida declared that while he does have some interest in the metaverse and NFTs, no such thing will be implemented in FFXIV. 

While Yoshida is not the head developer of all of the studios’ games, having such a declaration from a well-known director is important, as it sets an example for what should be the future for the current successful games. NFTs could very well be the future, but not for everyone.

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