Square Enix has listed Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy VII Remake, two of their biggest and most anticipated projects, as “2018 and beyond” releases in an internal document where the company discusses its sales strategy for the future. Announced in 2013 and 2015 respectively, neither title has been showcasing a high volume of gameplay material over the years, although after the release of Final Fantasy XV in 2016, it was expected that one of them could take the place as the big worldwide RPG release of Square Enix in 2017.
The document, available here as a PDF file, lists a number game releases as a way to showcase the company’s strategy of launching blockbusters and medium productions regularly, and in the column of “fiscal year 2018 and beyond” it mentions Dragon Quest XI, Final Fantasy XII: the Zodiac Age, and the new Itadaki Street game as 2017 releases, while Kingdom Hearts 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and an unannounced Marvel IP project are not given any specific release window.
Keep in mind that fiscal years usually don’t follow the normal cycle of January-December, and instead companies like Square Enix start their fiscal year in April. So the “fiscal year 2018” mentioned actually covers part of 2017 and 2018.
It is possible that the company is wary of possible leaks and decided not to share any details even in internal documents like this one before they make an official announcement. However, it is more likely that the games will just be coming in 2018 at the earliest. This lack of release details is also appreciated in the absence of unannounced titles like the next Tomb Raider, Project Octopath for Nintendo Switch, or the fact that Final Fantasy VII Remake is listed as a unique title, despite it being released in separate parts.
If Square Enix plans to reveal more details on the two games they will probably do it during this year’s E3 next June.
The rest of the document reviews the company’s current focus on taking advantage of the growing digital market, through practices like extending the active life of their titles through the regular release of DLC, the geographical expansion of their mobile and console releases, or the creation of a unique official digital store platform that tries to break through geographical markets and backwards compatibility issues.
Published: Apr 24, 2017 11:56 am