Despite the turmoil in the cryptocurrency market, Final Fantasy developer Square Enix is preparing to double down on blockchain game production, 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,” sought to summarise the company’s significant achievements in 2022 and outline its goals for 2023. Seven of the 15 paragraphs were on blockchain gaming, indicating that blockchain gaming would be a significant emphasis of the company’s investing strategy in the future.
Matsuda claimed that “blockchain entertainment” is the investment sector on which his team would be most focused in the medium term, and to which they have made “strong investment and company development efforts.”
Matsuda endeavored to make sense of the crypto market’s fall after reviewing its ups and downs in 2021 and 2022. According to him, new technologies frequently generate “confusion,” but eventually become accepted as a regular part of daily life. So, even though the crypto market is volatile, investors should not dismiss its potential, he says, adding:
“New technologies and frameworks lead to innovation, but they also create considerable confusion”
Matsuda went on to say that any technology that can withstand “societal tides” will gradually become a part of people’s lives, giving rise to new enterprises and growth.
“Following the excitement and exhilaration that surrounded NFTs and the metaverse in 2021, 2022 was a year of great volatility in the blockchain-related space”
“However, if this proves to have been a step in a process that leads to the creation of rules and a more transparent business environment, it will definitely have been for the good of the growth of blockchain entertainment.”
Matsuda concluded the letter by adding that Square Enix is working on numerous blockchain games and will be unveiling more in 2023.
Throughout 2022, Square Enix made a number of efforts in the blockchain gaming market. It stated in July that it would release Final Fantasy collectibles on the Enjin platform. It became a node validator on the Oasys blockchain in September. Square Enix invested 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) in mobile game developer Gumi Games in December to assist in the development of mobile play-to-earn products.
Despite the turmoil of 2022, the company’s latest letter suggests that it has no intentions to reduce its spending in the field in 2023.