Square Enix: Final Fantasy 7 Remake is a hit, Marvel's Avengers below expectations

Square Enix has published the financial results for the last nine months of the fiscal year, data that demonstrate solidity despite Marvel's Avengers (one of the main titles in the Japanese publisher's lineup for 2020) has struggled to establish itself commercially.

In the period from April 1st to December 31st 2020 Square Enix recorded net sales up 33.7% and operating revenues up 47.7% again compared to 2019. Profits fell by 4.3% compared to the previous year but the publisher has partly blamed the arcade market, with arcades closed in Japan for much of the year due to the pandemic it has been difficult to generate money from this business segment.

"Gaming HD" sector Square Enix achieved good results with Final Fantasy VII Remake which guaranteed net sales practically doubled compared to those obtained in the same period of 2019. In the second part of the year the publisher has instead recorded losses of 6 billion yen, due in part to the non-commercial success of Marvel's Avengers (which sold below expectations) and the failure to publish expansions for Dragon Quest X and Final Fantasy XIV.

Apparently Square Enix has not recovered the development and promotion costs for Marvel's Avengers but the company is confident that sales can increase thanks to the arrival of the update for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S.