Square Enixhas been the subject of much theorycrafting as of late, thanks primarily to the fact that it has now sold off three of its major western game development studios and their related (and well-regarded) intellectual properties to Embracer Group. The company hasn’t clarified the situation in detail, either, adding even more fuel to the discussions surrounding the deal.
New information aboutSquare Enixcontinues to come out, however, and according to MST Financial, the publisher has lost $200 million between its two Marvel releases. This paints a reasonably clear picture as to why Square Enix would sell off both Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal, who worked onMarvel’s AvengersandMarvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, respectively.
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Namely, whileGuardians of the Galaxyfound critical acclaim, it seems that the less favorably reviewedAvengersdragged it down in the grand scheme of things. MST Financial’s analysis of the situation has shown that the company lost hundreds of millions of dollars on the production and marketing of these games, which seems to have been a tough pill for Square Enix to swallow. Sure enough,Guardiansis building its audience via Game Passnow, but that seems to be too little and too late to have made a difference, as both properties are now sold off to Embracer Group.
Now thatEmbracer has acquired Square Enix’s western studios, the company can focus on projects that seem to make more sense for it, such asForspokenand theFinal Fantasyfranchise. Though, it’s also worth pointing out that Square is retaining the rights toOutriders,Just Cause, andLife is Strange, which implies that these IPs have historically been comparatively more successful than the two Marvel games in question.
One of the theories being thrown around is that the publisher might be looking to experiment with blockchain technology to a greater degree, as theCEO of Square Enix expressed interest in NFTsas well as dedicated “play to earn” games. Now that it’s clear that the company lost a substantial amount of money banking on Marvel IPs, this idea might not be that far-fetched after all.
In related news,Marvel’s Avengersstarted 2022 rather poorly, and there’s currently no telling whether the Embracer Group would want to continue updating the game’s widely criticized live-service model in the first place. The new publisher could always try to revamp the game, but that’s a major investment that may or may not pay off in the end.Marvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy, at least, won’t be entangled in these issues, as it’s a regular narratively-focused action game with no real live-service elements.
