The sale agreement announcement came at a tough time for Square Enix, as it was published the same day as a report from the Wall Street Journal that "NFT Sales are Flatlining".
Video game company Square Enix agrees to sell much of their Western IP so they can go into the blockchain market
Video game company Square Enix, the creators of titles including Deus Ex and Tomb Raider, agreed to sell off the intellectual property rights to those games, as well as other games and their respective game studios. The move, they said, was so they could invest more heavily in "blockchain, AI, and the cloud". This didn't come as an enormous surprise, as in January, Square Enix CEO announced these intentions in a letter that acknowledged that that (apparent subset) of players who "play to have fun" wouldn't be thrilled with their blockchain plans.
Square Enix CEO acknowledges he will be disappointing gamers who "play to have fun" with his announcement that they are getting into web3
In the announcement, Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda apparently wrote with a straight face: "I realize that some people who 'play to have fun' and who currently form the majority of players have voiced their reservations toward these new trends". He also spoke positively of the metaverse and in the announcement. Square Enix is the maker of popular game franchises including Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Kingdom Hearts.