Final Fantasy creator Square Enix plans to double down on blockchain game development despite the turmoil in the crypto market, according to a Jan. 1 letter from Yosuke Matsuda, the president of the Japanese company.
The letter, titled “New Year’s Letter from the President,” was intended to summarize the company’s key achievements in 2022 and outline its plans for 2023. The company’s future investment strategy.
⚔Introduction of SYMBIOGENESIS①⚔
From today, I will introduce Symbiogenesis from the concept ✨
Symbiogenesis is a new franchise by SQUARE ENIX that brings authentic gaming utility ⚔ to 10000 collectible NFT artworks #symgeNFT #NFTs pic.twitter.com/1ukBEgOmfv
— Symbiogenesis (@symbiogenesisPR) December 21, 2022
Matsuda said that “blockchain entertainment” is the investment area that his team will focus on the most in the medium term, with “aggressive investment and business development efforts.”
After summarizing the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market in 2021 and 2022, Matsuda tried to make sense of its decline. He said he would be able to Therefore, investors should not necessarily doubt the possibility of turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, he said, adding:
“New technologies and frameworks lead to innovation, but they also cause considerable disruption.”
Matsuda added that technology that can weather “social trends” will gradually become a part of people’s lives, ultimately creating new businesses and growth.
“Following the excitement and exhilaration surrounding NFTs and the Metaverse in 2021, 2022 has been a year of great change in the blockchain-related space,” he noted.
“But if this proves to be a step in the process that leads to rule-making and a more transparent business environment, it would definitely be good for the growth of blockchain entertainment.”
It’s been a great year of gaming, and 2023 is even better!❄️
Happy New Year, a message from everyone at Square Enix!
️ https://t.co/C9hdvi1GwZ pic.twitter.com/AOSRXdjizg
— Square Enix (@SquareEnix) December 31, 2022
Matsuda concluded the letter by stating that Square Enix is developing multiple blockchain games and plans to announce more in 2023.
Related: 2023 will see the end of play-to-earn games
Square Enix has made multiple moves in the blockchain gaming space throughout 2022. In July, we announced that we would be releasing the Final Fantasy Collection on our engine platform. In September, he joined the Oasys blockchain as a validator for his node. Square Enix announced in December that his game development company for mobile, he invested his 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) in Gumi Games to help develop titles that make money by playing on mobile.
The recent letter suggests the company has no plans to slow down its investments in the sector in 2023, despite the turmoil in 2022.