Square Enix is planning to dramatically restructure its business units after an underwhelming Q3.

Speaking to investors, the Japanese publisher unveiled plans to reorganise its eleven business units, each responsible for a different subset of its releases and organisation into just four.

"As of Q3 of fiscal year 2020, we plan on reorganizing and consolidate the 11 existing business divisions at Square Enix into four business units in order to increase the efficiency of our workflows, make more effective use of our resources, and consolidate our expertise with the aim of improving profitability,” president Yosuke Matsuda told shareholders. 

These changes will be confined to Square Enix’s studio in Japan and the firm has no intention on reducing the company’s workforce. Instead, it sees the move as consolidation that will help Square Enix more effectively allocate resources.

The last quarter was rough for Square Enix - net sales dipped 4.8 per cent, while profits slumped an entire 60.1 per cent. Just Cause 4 suffered from a “sluggish start” that the publisher’s other games couldn’t make up for. Square says it will be stimulating sales of the latter title by "offering updates and through other initiatives". 

Replying to a question on the recent poor performance, Matsuda continued: "We think the main reason is that we were unable to provide an experience that was novel enough that players would choose to buy them before any of the other numerous major titles on the competitive landscape

"While it is true that we are seeing a shift away from sales of boxes to digital downloads, with this many titles competing with one another, initial sales are definitely an important element in increasing user awareness. For that reason, we do need to engage in a certain amount of advertising just ahead of a new title's launch."