Square Enix is the latest company to release its financial results for the last few months and the publisher has revealed it has several new titles releasing throughout the next few months. However, the main focus of this year for Square Enix is a “major franchise”, and with Final Fantasy celebrating its 35th anniversary soon, you can probably guess what franchise this will be.
Celebrating Final Fantasy’s 35th anniversary
While the “major franchise” on which it’ll be focusing wasn’t specified, it’s almost certain Square Enix will focus on Final Fantasy this year. The publisher acknowledged it was Final Fantasy’s 35th anniversary year in their earnings call, as translated by analyst and investment adviser David Gibson. More news should be coming either later this month or next month. The company also confirmed it had seen the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI trailer and had “high expectations” for the game.
Square Enix -said this FY3/23, it will release several new titles but year is centered around major franchise. Noted it is the FF 35th anniversary and expects news this month or next. Noted it had had seen FF16 trailer and had high expectations for the title. #FF16
— David Gibson (@gibbogame) May 13, 2024
Final Fantasy’s 35th anniversary falls on December 18, but Square Enix has been planning a celebration for most of the year. A special anniversary website promises “many exciting new ways to enjoy the worlds of FINAL FANTASY”. So far there is a collaboration with Uniqlo to produce a range of t-shirts that launch on Monday, May 16. Later on in the year, there will be a series of FINAL FANTASY 35th Anniversary Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY Coral concerts that begin in August. Hopefully, we’ll soon find out where games fit into this too.
The publisher will not be focusing solely on Final Fantasy, though. Forspoken, The DioField Chronicle, Valkyrie Elysium, and Star Ocean: The Divine Force are all scheduled to be released on PlayStation at some point this year, while The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story was released on PS5 and PS4 just two days ago. No new details were mentioned about these games, though.
In other news, SEGA is planning to release more remakes and remasters throughout the next financial year. Elsewhere, Bloober Team and Sony Interactive Entertainment have signed an agreement for the distribution of the former’s titles, possibly on the new PS Plus tiers.
