Square Enix has revealed its financial report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, announcing their best results ever in terms of net revenue, operating income, ordinary income and net income. The company points at the release of the blockbusters Final Fantasy XV and Rise of the Tomb Raider, specifically the PlayStation 4 version, as the main players in this achievement, although it also mentions the good performance by online multiplayer games like Final Fantasy XIV, and mobile titles like Final Fantasy Brave Exvius or Kingdom Hearts Union χ.
The financial report reveals a growth or at least steady performance in all the segments of the company, including digital entertainment, amusement, publications, and merchandising. Digital entertainment covers all game releases and was the segment that grew the most, thanks to the successful release of Final Fantasy XV and the PlayStation 4 version of Rise of the Tomb Raider, on top of a strong volume of catalogue sales of digital games.
The revenue from massive multiplayer games like Final Fantasy XIV and Dragon Quest X kept steady despite a significant decline in sales due to the absence of any new expansion releases, a situation that will change this year with the release of Stormblood: Final Fantasy XIV.
Sales and income from smart devices and PC browser increased significantly thanks to the strong performance of games like Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Hoshi No Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest Monsters Super Light and Kingdom Hearts Union χ, with the latter two expanding their business to Western markets.
In summary, Square Enix has revealed itself as an extremelly well performer, with all segments either growing or at least keeping stable from the numbers from the previous year. In this scenario, the contrast with any failing business is more staggering, which is probably the reason why the company has decided to leave partner IO Interactive, developers of the Hitman franchise.
It is also the biggest validation possible to Final Fantasy XV, a project that had an extremely difficult development, but in the end it’s been able to contribute to the company’s finances with solid revenue that will expand in the future thanks to the additional content planned for this year.
The forecast section of the report is predicting even better results for next year thanks to the strong performance of smartphone content and game releases in Western markets. In the coming months the company is expected to release titles such as Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Stormblood: Final Fantasy XIV, Dragon Quest XI in Japan, or the rumored Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
