Monday 1 June 2026
DID FFXIV and FFXI failed?
He thinks that the sales for both FFXI and FFXIV are embarrassing despite a steady rise in users for both games. Square Enix needs to target a younger crowd, while the FF games and others are at 30+. He thinks that Square missed the opportunity to combat Genshin Impact, and also thinks that they should get more collabs from Fortnite and K-pop, of all things lol.
FFXI has been a steady income stream for Square since Voracious Resurgence was a hit with returning players, and, suddenly, a surge of new and returning players caused servers to close in 2026.
FFXIV, on the other hand, despite the criticism and theories on who is messing around in FFXIV, Kate Cwynar being fired on something avoidable, and suddenly a welcome comeback following the FanFest Evercold Trailer, causing new and returning players to the world of Hydaelyn.
Regarding Kate Cwynar being fired as a lead translator for FFXIV, it could have been avoidable if she didn’t say too much on these things, such as activism and a lot of things unrelated to FFXIV, in a negative light since she is living in Japan. At a time when people feel like the West took over Japan by censoring their media well for us in a way lol.
I highly disagree with Xenosys, A umm FFXIV Twitch streamer who said that she was a liability and a PR nightmare. That’s not really true since she did say something that she shouldn’t have said. And she wasn’t a big problem, way from Shadowbringers.
On the other hand, the Wuk Lamat ENG voice actor is nowhere near this problem lol.
Will that be good enough? I am not sure tbh lol. The cool people I know who actually play this game are mostly people with jobs, from 18 to 50+
Free2play mobile titles are not good at Square Enix
But regarding Square Enix missing the opportunity to capitalize on the Genshin Impact craze is an understatement, since FFXIV hugely destroyed WoW by having their players come to them in the summer of 2020.
Historically, though, up till now Square doesn’t have a good track record in the free-to-play space since 2011 lol, until they release FF14 Mobile for the Chinese market, and yet that one doesn’t seem to fare well for the players who were able to play it. That game is a Cosplay display simulator more than the already full game that u can play on PC right now. Plus, FF14 Mobile starts from scratch on A Realm Reborn, so it doesn’t hold hands, nor is it related to the PC version in any way.
The FF Single-Player Franchise in Square Enix 2001-2006
As the 1990s came to a close, Square Enix enjoyed a successful period with their nine games released on the NES, SNES, and Sony PlayStation. Final Fantasy IX was the last PS1 game to be released, debuting in the year 2000.
Entering the new millennium, development costs began to rise significantly. The film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, released in theaters, failed to break even, resulting in a loss of over $130 million. In contrast, Final Fantasy X managed to recoup its costs and generate profit.
The company recognized the need for change, as the gaming landscape shifted from the PS1 to the PS2, with new advancements such as voice acting.
Final Fantasy X-2 2003 marked a notable success for sequels, although many key figures within the company had already departed by this time.
In 2002, the world of Final Fantasy transitioned online with the launch of Final Fantasy XI in Japan, followed by North America in 2003 for PC, and in 2004 for PS2.
The development of Final Fantasy XII began back in 2001, with an initial planned release for 2004-2005, but it was later delayed to 2006. This game ended with a good note for the PS2 generation.
During this six-year period, fans found themselves divided. Following the remarkable story of Final Fantasy VII in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation, opinions among the fandom became polarized. There was little middle ground; fans either loved the newer titles or disliked them. They remained substantial enough to keep the company viable.
Final Fantasy into the next generation of consoles PS3/XBOX 360 2010-2015
Square Enix faced a lot of problems when they enter the next generation of consoles, especially after its early successes with Final Fantasy X and its PS2 generation.
FF13 and it own odd sequels lol in 2012-2013 were somewhat of a sticking point.
I remembered FF13 commercials but never played it until 4 years later around 2014. And I’m not gonna lie though it had a great story and awesome soundtrack. Both English and Japanese voices were good sadly though the game play is not my cup of tea tbh.
Well if you add up the sales of all three, especially considering the sequels were based on the same engine and were much less expensive to make, this trilogy probably was hugely successful for them in terms of sheer profit margins.
From 2005 to 2010, Final Fantasy XI significantly bolstered the company's revenue, with one user on GameFAQs even suggesting that in 2009, it was better than World of Warcraft.
When the announcement of Final Fantasy XIV was made at E3 2009, which was comprised of FFXI developers, they thought they could once again capture the excitement. A year later, Reviews were pouring in, and they were struggling to follow up on expectations. FFXIV rebounded with a new mindset and went from the old to the new in 2013 and became a big success; it’s rare to see World of Warcraft developers engaging with fans at events.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which became Final Fantasy XV, struggled in development for years and ultimately disappointed some fans despite its impressive presentation from trailers. The situation worsened with the game's DLC when director Hajime Tabata felt undervalued and disrespected, he decided to leave Square Enix. Having directed popular PSP titles like Final Fantasy 7 Crisis Core, Final Fantasy Type 0, and The 3rd Birthday.
Final Fantasy XVI offered a more mature, action-oriented style and received positive reviews, although sales were initially slow as it was a PS5 exclusive before expanding to other platforms. Conversations about the balance between turn-based and action RPGs have emerged, with many feeling Square Enix has lost its identity since Final Fantasy X.
Ultimately, the direction of the Final Fantasy series has become increasingly confusing.
Two years later, in 2025 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was release, at legit Turn based RPG was a hit leading Square Enix to release a remake of a turn-based game from the Tactics series later that year, further illustrating their jealousy. I am not sure if Square Enix were that salty, but the feeling would be a wound covered with salt so deep it hurts even more. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Sales Top 8 Million Units - Sales
Its time to move on from FF7
The idea for the Final Fantasy VII Remake originated in the office in 2001-02, born out of desperation after the failure of the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and other business ventures that struggled to recoup their costs. A demo for the PlayStation 3 in 2005 further ignited interest in the project. This was complemented by the release of the movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in 2005 and the PSP game Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core on September 13, 2007.
Fifteen years later, the official Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced as a three-part series, with the first installment released on April 10, 2020. This was followed by the sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which launched on February 29, 2024. The trilogy will conclude with Final Fantasy VII Return, expected to release in late 2026 or early 2027.
People like FF7 a whole lot.
I doubt that a remake of a Final Fantasy would happen again on a scale like FF7 ever again. They just need to pull in existing titles and build it into a mid-series of games. Not just remakes after remakes.
Overall, FF16 and its remakes are good and bad depending on those who like to play these games, even though they have only sold through 1-2 million in sales. And maybe more after?
Dragon Quest And Kingdom Hearts are cool
Dragon Quest wasn’t really a big name juggernaut like Final Fantasy in the states but was very popular in japan. Despite only selling 200,000 units in the US on 2000.
Dragon Quest 8 actually was the most popular entry in the west. It received a decent amount of promotion in magazines and included a FF12 demo to help entice people to buy it, but I assume SE chose not to go ham with TV advertisements since the franchise had historically not sold well in the West. Still the fact that SE included an English voice cast and the orchestral tracks shows they had a lot of confidence in their product
Dragon Quest 9 was a good game for the NDS letting you play with friends not online but by linking NDS up too 4 players.
Dragon quest X is somewhat a grey area since its only a MMO and japan only
Kingdom Hearts on the other hand was a different story. It had Disney characters that everyone loves, The story about friendship and the meaning of Existence. Thankfully instead of buying from 3 separate games from 3 consoles “PS2,GBA,NDS,and PSP you can buy the HD remasters on the PS4/PS5 or on PC today. Sadly though after Kingdom Hearts 3 7 years later the Development of KH4 has been on a standstill with no official announcements.
Dragon Quest XI interesting enough sold more than FF15 and FF16 at 9 million units.
Kingdom Hearts III sold at least 6.7 million sales.
However these games came out years ago soo long ago that maybe these games are still printing money till this day on digital sales or maybe from Gamestop used sales?
Pure Speculation
If Takashi Kiryu did took that advice at heart from Jacob Novak and other western groups then it would destroy the company even further. the real winner are the western backers 3D Investment Partners.
Meaning no money for FFXIV and its Future thankfully that didn’t happen.
What entertainment attracts the younger crowd in 2026?
It’s a jarring question that even I can't answer? Like, what does a Japanese Boy or Girl want from Square Enix?
Japanese Idols boys/girls
Fantasy?
Good stories like in the Kamen Rider series? or sailor moon>?
Japanese does have those crazy, wacky, colorful commercials featuring collabs with companies. They do fit around for the kids in general.
The crazy question is asking boy or girl, "No matter what color or race, every kid" in America would be interested in. I do think Gen Z would love Kingdom Hearts, though, with its Disney Characters and colorful story about Friendship overcoming darkness.
Ending Thoughts
I do agree games do come at a slower pace, Their hellla expensive to make, but hey, quality over quantity, right?
Money is never enough to make a game in 2026
Square Enix can be in a good place unless someone with the right mind steer in the right direction. But if someone with the wrong words coming to open ears could steer to the left and destroy the company.
One trying to up there gain by lowering the person as much as they can since its a competitive place to gain favor. With much leverage and favor. If the product fails, the blame is place upon on the one who suggested it as a good idea or in fact if the product was somewhat successful but still take the blame because he or she didn’t listen to what the other side wanted.
No matter what the latter has said thru there comments at least the Fans who enjoy whatever Square enix has release for the last 30 years came home really happy.
hope the kids 15+ will enjoy whatever Square enix release as well