Square Enix to Double Down on Xbox Releases, Final Fantasy 14 Producer Says

[Puff]

Yoshida told Eurogamer that Final Fantasy 14's recent release on Xbox was met with a "really strong response" and is just the "starting point" for more Square Enix games to launch on the platform.

"With Final Fantasy 14's release on Xbox, [Microsoft Gaming CEO] Phil Spencer spent a lot of his time and a lot of effort and put in a lot of hard work into making it a reality," Yoshida said. "So we would like to make the best of that and further deepen the relationship with Xbox gamers moving forward."

"However, at Square Enix, we have been changing our policy," he continued. "So now we are moving towards the policy of releasing our games on a multiplatform basis, and we really want as many players as possible to play our titles.

"With Final Fantasy 14 as the starting point, we do want to release more Square Enix games on Xbox, and there will be more of our titles released on Xbox. So I hope players will look forward to future things to come on the platform."

This shift in strategy arrived after a huge fall in profits was revealed in May 2024, when Square Enix declared it would "shift to a multiplatform strategy" through a three year plan to reboot the company.

Though several games have arrived on Xbox and Nintendo platforms over the years, PlayStation has been a focus for Square Enix as it's released the likes of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy and Final Fantasy 16 on PlayStation exclusively. Both of these were well received but failed to meet financial expectations.

Square Enix to Double Down on Xbox Releases, Final Fantasy 14 Producer Says - IGN

Final Fantasy 16 producer and 14 director Naoki Yoshida has said Square Enix is looking to double down on Xbox releases, after its focus on PlayStation exclusivity led to a financial dip.

www.ign.com

 

[Bryank75]

 

[SuperPotato]

FF PC day 1 releases would make much more sense.

 

[Johnic]

Good luck. Ask Sega how that worked out.

 

[On Demand]

They can say what they want. They’ve tried this before and always revert back to exclusives for Sony and Nintendo.

Xbox players just doesn’t buy those games. A lot of Square Enix games are already on Xbox.

All marketing PR talk.

 

[TrishaCat]

Wonderful news! I guess this makes some degree of sense; just yesterday, while not a Square game, a new Atelier was announced to be on Xbox, being the first time a game in that series came to Xbox. It looks like 3rd party studios are trying to release more there. Be it by their own choice or Microsoft's money I couldn't say, but I'm glad! The more people who get to play Square goodness the better.

Here's hoping anything they launch launches better though; ff14 Xbox had a lot of problems at launch.

 

[ConcentratedBuffoonery]

Can bring the games to the platform, can't make the playerbase buy em.
If Phil didn't throw money at Japanese publishers, the games would never have come to xbox, and that's why it won't succeed.
It's not about fan requests, it's about xbox funneling money into those publishers.

 

[On Demand]

Of course IGN is trying to tie Square Enix’s profits to this reason.

It’s also comical IGN mentions they have released games on both Nintendo and Xbox but says the focus has been on PlayStation……..brings up 2 games.

Switch has more Square Enix exclusives than anybody.

 

[Dabaus]

This is a blatant lie: "Yoshida told Eurogamer that Final Fantasy 14's recent release on Xbox was met with a "really strong response" and is just the "starting point"

FF14 wasnt even in the top 50 xbox games played the week it launched. It also had so many stipulations like needing to pay for online outside of game pass and its own seperate unique currency exclusive to xbox that at least online chatter, was not worth the effort. So not only did it underperform player and sales wise, it was also convoluted from a design perspective. Yoshida is lying here.

The only possible explanation is MS and SE have signed some sort of contract to eventually port games right before Satya pulled the plug on Phils' Fiefdom. Its extremely bizarre SE would want to go all in NOW exactly when xbox is imploding world wide. SneakersSO said the gamepass deal money has dried as well. I know SE makes some strange decisions but Yoshida lying like this about FF14 being a success on xbox and looking forward to more ports at a time when gamepass money pot has dried up, AND its so well known the xbox community doesnt buy games that its an open secret big publishers are questioning why they even support it is strange to say the least.

 

[quest4441]

Good for Square, Sony itself is doing their pc ports so no need to be beholden to making them exclusive on playstation, I hope they do day 1 releases on Switch 2 to get massive sales final fantasy deserves it.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

What an idiot

Games on Xbox are flopping more than ever but now they're all about Xbox, as if they never released any. All of them had bad sales that's why it wasn't worth it.

He was brainwashed by the media and Phil.

 

[Dabaus]

Also strange he complains about Xbox sales being bad in Japan so publishers skip it there immediately after MS just hiked the price. It’s like everything he is saying is in defiance of reality. I’m guessing MS is paying so much for these ports to save face that it really doesn’t matter to SE, easy money?

 

[Etifilio]

so PlayStation lost... Call Of Duty marketing, Final Fantasy exclusivity... even tho it won't make much difference, these two were very important IPs...

 

[peewee78368]

Notice how they say Future Final fantasy LOL they just flat out saying ff7 remnake not coming to xbox every fina lfantasy but that and 16 are on xbox and every final fantasy sold like dog shit.

 

[Systemshock2023]

They can try. But faster PC releases (and better optimized) should be the priority. Hell even switch should have more priority than Xbox.

 

[anonpuffs]

You know what, Yoshida? We really are the Final Fantasy

 

[Say1nMan]

Another clickbait article from IGN regarding Square Enix.

 

[Neversummer]

Good for Square, Sony itself is doing their pc ports so no need to be beholden to making them exclusive on playstation, I hope they do day 1 releases on Switch 2 to get massive sales final fantasy deserves it.

Exactly. Why would square continue doing PS exclusive when PS don’t even do exclusive for there first party? Even some games like Until dawn are day 1 on PC?

But I can bet you will still see Square Enix do Nintendo exclusivity. I fully expect bayonetta 4 to be exclusive to Nintendo & good for them Nintendo are the only one that has exclusive & shows publisher they can survive without any other platform. Aswell Nintendo shows they invest & trust there platform & will continue to do exclusive first party ten pole games for the long term unlike Xbox or PS.

 

[Neversummer]

so PlayStation lost... Call Of Duty marketing, Final Fantasy exclusivity... even tho it won't make much difference, these two were very important IPs...

& PS ain’t gonna buy Square Enix & make there entire games exclusive even thoe there worth 5 billion & Sony wanted to buy the failure company such as Paramount that hold little to no ip that they actually owned.

Instead PS will buy more port studios for PC. At the very least when Nintendo buys a port studio it’s to bring more 3rd party games that skips Nintendo console to release 3rd party games quicker or day n date bolstering k making the Nintendo console & Nintendo storefront that more valuable for both consumer & studios/publishers & more valuable platform/storefront mean more games either exclusive or day n date by indy/AAA publishers

 

[Cool hand luke]

Exactly. Why would square continue doing PS exclusive when PS don’t even do exclusive for there first party? Even some games like Until dawn are day 1 on PC?

But I can bet you will still see Square Enix do Nintendo exclusivity. I fully expect bayonetta 4 to be exclusive to Nintendo & good for them Nintendo are the only one that has exclusive & shows publisher they can survive without any other platform. Aswell Nintendo shows they invest & trust there platform & will continue to do exclusive first party ten pole games for the long term unlike Xbox or PS.

Until Dawn released August 25th, 2015. It's a 9 year old port. Cut this horseshit about day 1.

As for Square, money clearly exchanged hands. Not even Xbox wants to release on Xbox.