Square Enix Holdings' earnings recovery suggests that structural reforms centered on a large-scale withdrawal from mobile games and a shift to a multi-platform strategy have been successful. Since recording a huge loss on disposal in fiscal 2024, the company has shifted its focus to improving profitability, with the changes also affecting the development structure for Dragon Quest 12.
The recording of a ¥22 billion loss on the disposal of content and other assets in the fiscal year ended March 2024 marked a turning point, after which the company undertook project reviews and pursued a multi-platform strategy. As a result, revenue increased by approximately 30% and operating profit by approximately 90% in April-June 2026.
Dragon Quest Smash Grow, released in April 2026, exceeded 5 million cumulative downloads, while DISSIDIA DUELLUM FINAL FANTASY, a title distributed during the same period, was announced to have surpassed 500,000 downloads within several days of launch. Revenue from the smart-device, PC browser and other businesses increased by nearly 36% year on year.
The HD game business grew sharply in April-June 2026, with revenue approximately doubling and operating profit increasing approximately sixfold from the same period of the previous year. Efforts to generate long-term revenue by making use of past assets appear to be gradually producing results.
From a long-term perspective, some believe that strengthening the multi-platform strategy and the use of existing assets will lead to stable revenue centered on the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series. At the same time, the announcement that Dragon Quest XII is being remade has prompted calls for a reassessment of the balance between a creator-led approach and a market-in approach.