Square Enix says ‘Forspoken’ sales “have been lackluster”

Square Enix has revealed that its recent AAA title, Forspoken, has underperformed financially since its release in January.

In a financial presentation, Square Enix revealed that while reviews for the game “have been challenging”, it has also received “positive feedback on its action features”, highlighting its parkour and combat mechanics. “That said, its sales have been lackluster,” Yosuke Matsuda said as part of his presentation.

Matsuda added: “While the performance of new titles with February and March release dates will be the ultimate determinant, we see considerable downside risk to our FY2023/3 earnings.”

He continued, telling investors: “Last year, I stated that we were designating FY2023/3 as a year in which to lay the foundations that will enable us to achieve our medium-term objectives, but that we nonetheless intended to pursue YoY growth in sales and profits. In light of current conditions, however, I have to admit that this will not be easy.”

Late last month, Luminous Productions which developed Forspoken, has announced it is closing with staff set to merge with Square Enix.Luminous Productions is currently working on an expansion for the title alongside a patch to “address overall game performance”.

Square Enix has since released a statement confirming the merger will come into effect May 1, 2023.

Forspoken received a three-star review from Jordan Oloman for NME upon its release. Oloman wrote: “There’s nothing bespoke about Forspoken’s world, which is why it’s so hard to get caught up in its atmosphere, no matter how it feels to play. It’s a long-haul montage of middling action movie trailers beamed directly into your skull, and you don’t even get to watch a cracking film at the end of it.”

“It’s a rare miss for Square Enix, as its big RPGs usually tend to find an audience, even if they do have a bit of jank about them, but I’m not sure Forspoken even knows who it’s targeting,” Oloman concluded.