Square Enix, the creator of Final Fantasy, will double down on blockchain game development despite the turmoil in the crypto market, according to a Jan. 1 letter from the Japanese company’s president, Yosuke Matsuda.
The letter, titled “A New Year’s Letter from the President,” aimed to summarize the company’s key achievements in 2022 and outline its plans for 2023. Out of 15 paragraphs, seven dealt with blockchain gaming, showing that blockchain gaming is a key focus of the company’s future investment strategy.
⚔An introduction to SYMBIOGENESIS ①⚔
Starting today, we begin introducing Symbiogenesis, starting with the concept✨
Symbiogenesis is a new franchise from SQUARE ENIX that brings real game value ⚔ to 10000 collectable NFT artworks #symgeNFT #NFT pic.twitter.com/1ukBEgOmfv
— SYMBIOGENESIS (@symbiogenesisPR) December 21, 2022
Matsuda stated that “blockchain entertainment” is the investment field his team will focus on the most in the medium term, to which they have devoted “aggressive investment and business development efforts.”
After summarizing the ups and downs of the crypto market in 2021 and 2022, Matsuda tried to understand its decline. He said new technologies often cause “confusion” but are eventually accepted as a normal part of everyday life. So, when turmoil hits the crypto market, it shouldn’t necessarily cause investors to doubt its potential, he explained, adding:
“New technologies and frameworks bring innovation, but also create significant confusion.”
Matsuda added that any technology capable of weathering “societal tides” will gradually become part of people’s lives, eventually leading to new businesses and growth.
“Following the excitement and hilarity that surrounded NFTs and the Metaverse in 2021, 2022 was a year of great volatility in the blockchain space,” he noted.
“However, if this turns out to be a step in a process leading to the creation of rules and a more transparent business environment, it will definitely have been for the benefit of the growth of blockchain entertainment.”
It’s been an amazing year full of games and 2023 looks even better!❄️
Here’s a message from all of us at Square Enix wishing you a Happy New Year!
️ https://t.co/C9hdvi1GwZ pic.twitter.com/AOSRXdjizg
— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) December 31, 2022
Matsuda ended the letter by noting that Square Enix has several blockchain games in development and will announce more throughout 2023.
Related: 2023 will see the end of play-to-earn gaming
Square Enix has made several moves in the blockchain gaming space throughout 2022. In July, it announced it would release Final Fantasy collectibles on the Enjin platform. In September, it joined Oasys Blockchain as a node validator. In December, Square Enix invested 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) in mobile game developer Gumi Games to help develop mobile play-to-earn titles.
This latest letter implies that despite the turmoil of 2022, the company has no plans to scale back its investments in space in 2023.