Square Enix takes $140 million hit on cancelled games
Publisher slides hit into the final days of its fiscal year as part of strategy to be "more selective and focused" about pipeline
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Square Enix today warned investors that its next earnings report will include a significant hit due to a number of cancelled projects.
The publisher's board of directors voted on March 27 in favor of a new strategy for HD games "with the intention of being more selective and focused in the allocation of development resources."
As a result, Square Enix plans to report ¥22.1 billion ($140 million) in content abandonment losses for the fiscal year ended March 31.
The company said it is evaluating whether or not the charge will require it to revise its previously released earnings forecast for the year.
Either way, Square Enix is scheduled to report its earnings for the year on May 13.
To give an idea of the sort of pipeline the publisher hopes to cut back on, Square Enix's lineup of HD games for its last fiscal year included Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster, Final Fantasy 16, Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, Star Ocean: The Second Story R, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, Foamstars, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
The company has already confirmed that Final Fantasy 16 fell short of sales expectations at launch, and Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad has also said Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is underperforming sales-wise.