Square Enix, the role-playing game giant known for flagship franchises like the Final Fantasy series and Dragon Quest, has seen a 30% market share dip, costing up to a lose in nearly $2,000,000,000. This is based on a report released Wednesday that while this is higher than the share price as of last May, this downturn is due to Square Enix not meeting the grander expectations the company set for itself.

While these numbers are based on early June, leading up to the release of Final Fantasy XVI, it shouldn't necessarily mean that this game is to blame for it. Square's latest entry in the 34 year franchise has seemingly sold okay, numbers indicate it shipped 16 million copies with 3 million sold, it fell off the charts VERY quickly, as of August 2023. Not a financial failure, but for a much-hyped PlayStation 5 exclusive, these are tepid numbers.

Square Enix also has some recent flops when it comes to major releases. Marvel's Avengers was a critical failure that led to the sale of developer Crystal Dynamics to Embracer Group. Babylon's Fall, developed by PlatinumGames and seemingly inspired by Hoyoverse's Genshin Impact, was shut down after a year. Then there's the PlayStation 5 exclusive Forespoken, an action game that was considered incredibly average, as it failed to make an impact in sales. the main criticism comes from the lack of structure within the company, and giving too many producers too much power over projects, based on statements made by former and current Square Enix employees.

“Flooding the market with unfinished, bad or untested games is a bad move,” states Michael Prefontaine, a developer and avid gamer. “The company has overstretched itself on too many titles without proper oversight.”

SOURCES: Push Square, Video Games Chronicle