04/01/2023
Final Fantasy Parent Square Enix Is Bullish on Blockchain Gaming in 2023
Blockchain-based gaming continues to garner interest among some of the largest global gaming companies, even in the face of an extended crypto winter that has chilled many sectors of the industry.
On Sunday, Square Enix, the multinational holding company behind the popular Final Fantasy video games, released a New Year's letter from its president and representative director Yosuke Matsuda, affirming its push into blockchain gaming.
"In terms of new business domains, we named three focus investment fields under our medium-term business plan," Matsuda wrote. "Among those, we are most focused on blockchain entertainment, to which we have devoted aggressive investment and business development efforts.
As part of its strategy for 2023, the Tokyo-based video game giant said it it has "multiple blockchain games based on original [intellectual property] under development," which it has been teasing since last year. It is also soliciting global investment to expand its stake in promising blockchain startups.
The company acknowledged that while it has been a year of "great volatility" for crypto, it remained confident in the future of Web3. "In the wake of the aforementioned turbulence in the cryptocurrency industry, there is now a trend to view blockchain technology as a mere means to an end and to discuss what needs to happen to achieve the end of delivering new experiences and excitement to customers. I see this as a very beneficial development for the future growth of the industry."
"Blockchain has been an object of exhilaration and a source of turmoil, but with that in the rearview mirror, we hope that blockchain games will transition to a new stage of growth in 2023," Matsuda wrote.
