Outriders and Nier Replicant remake can't prevent sales slide at Square Enix

Square Enix reported declining net sales and operating income in its Digital Entertainment division, which houses its video game operations.

According to the company's fiscal report for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, net sales dipped by 6 percent year-on-year to 69.8 billion yen ($636.8 million), while operating income fell by 34.2 percent to 17.1 billion yen ($156 million) over the same period. 

The Japanese company said that downward shift was the result of newer releases like Outriders and Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139... struggling to match the performance of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which launched during the same period last year. 

As the table below shows, Square managed to achieve Q1 software sales of 19.73 million units, but that number dropped to 9.88 million units during Q1 FY2022. 

Glancing at the various Digital Entertainment sub-segments, Square noted sales pin the MMO Game sub-segment actually rose year-on-year due to Final Fantasy XIV pulling in more paying subscribers. 

It was a similar story in the Games for Smart Devices/PC Browser sub-segment, with net sales also increasing due to contributions from catalog titles like Dragon Quest Tact, Octopath Traveler: Tairiku no Hasha, and NieR Re[in]carnation.

Across the company as a whole, net sales increased by 1.8 percent to 88.6 billion yen ($808.3 million), while profits dropped by 11.9 percent to 12.6 billion yen ($114.9 million).