Japanese publishing giant Square Enix is shifting its focus to "aggressively" pursue a multiplatform strategy in the future.
In a business plan released to investors, dubbed Square Enix Reboots and Awakens, the company spelled out a new three-year strategy that it reckons will help it achieve "long-term growth". There are four 'pillars' to this plan, one of which is called "Diversify earnings opportunities by strengthening customer contact points". The first part of this step is shifting to a multiplatform strategy, which will see it release games across PC, as well as PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo platforms.
The firm wants to: "Build an environment where more customers can enjoy our titles in regards to major franchises and triple-A titles including catalog titles". Furthermore, Square Enix says that it wants to bring its SD – phone and browser games – to PC to "maximize the acquisition of new users when launching a title and that of recurring users after starting management of game operation".
Another aspect of this pillar is to "maximise digital sales of new titles", specifically targeting the PC audience which the company says represents "a growth market".
Furthermore, Square Enix wants to "leverage IP across media formats"; in other words, pursuing cross-media.
All of this is to overcome challenges that the company says it has faced in recent years. These include its triple-A game division not being as profitable as it might like, while it also claims that the smart device market has slowed down. Square also says that its new releases have been cannibalising each other due to a poorly-thought-out launch slate.
