Square Enix to combine dev teams amid losses

Square Enix will shake up and combine its myriad of dev teams to help optimize and organize games development, the company today announced.

Square Enix hasn't been doing too well lately. Sales of Just Cause 4 didn't meet launch targets, and its Q3 smartphone games didn't take off, resulting in lower than expected earnings. Now the company plans to restructure its business divisions to help streamline how it makes games.

The publisher currently operates with 11 different business departments that all handle development of various games, from big-budget Final Fantasy titles at BD1 to smaller-scale mobile games. CEO Yosuke Matsuda says this number shrink dramatically down to just 4 teams during Square Enix's next fiscal year.

"As of FY2020/3, we plan on reorganizing and consolidate the 11 existing business divisions at SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. into four business units in order to increase the efficiency of our workflows, make more effective use of our resources, and consolidate our expertise with the aim of improving profitability," Mr. Matsuda said in a recent Square Enix Q&A earnings report.

It'll be interesting to see how this consolidation affects the developers themselves (layoffs may happen) as well as the projects they're working on.

Square Enix is currently developing a big-budget Avengers game for Marvel alongside the hotly-anticipated Final Fantasy VII: Remake, but other projects like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy XIV are massively important for long-term success.

Mr. Matsuda was coy about Square Enix's 2020 slate, but said more information will be announced in the months leading up to E3. We should get more info on the Avengers project then, and maybe even a FFVII Remaster tease or two. The publisher will recoup its losses and generate lots of revenue from Kingdom Hearts III, Mr. Matsuda said in the report.

Here's a list of each of Square Enix's business divisions and the games they're responsible for (via ResetEra). No information on how the teams would be combined has been revealed thus far.

BD1

Executive: Yoshinori Kitase

Staffs: Motomu Toriyama, Naoki Hamaguchi, Daisuke Watanabe, Shintaro Takai, Toshitaka Matsuda, Yuji Abe

FINAL FANTASY XIII - PC (2014)

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 - PC (2014)

LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII - PC (2015)

MOBIUS FINAL FANTASY (2015-present)

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (TBA)

BD2

Executive: Hajime Tabata

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (2015) - co-developed by HexaDrive

Kingsglaive Final Fantasy XV (2016)

Final Fantasy XV (2016-2018)

Final Fantasy Type-0 Online (2016-present) - developed by Perfect World

Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire (2017-present) - developed by Epic Action

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV (2017)

Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition (2018) - developed by SummerTimeStudio and XPEC

BD3

Executive: Shinji Hashimoto

Final Fantasy III - PC (2014) - developed by DotEmu

The World Ends with You: Solo Remix - Android (2014) - developed by h.a.n.d

Final Fantasy IV - PC (2014) - developed by DotEmu

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (2014)

Final Fantasy Explorers (2014) - developed by Racjin

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years - PC (2015) - developed by DotEmu

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster - PS4 (2015) - developed by Virtuos

Final Fantasy VII - iOS (2015) - developed by D4 Enterprise

Kingdom Hearts Union χ (2015-present) - co-developed by BitGroove

Final Fantasy V - PC (2015) - developed by *unknown*

Final Fantasy VII - PS4 (2015) - developed by DotEmu

Final Fantasy VI - PC (2015) - developed by DotEmu

Final Fantasy IX - remaster (2016) - developed by Silicon Studio Thailand

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness (2016) - developed by tri-Ace

Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster - PC (2016) - developed by Virtuos

Final Fantasy VII - Android (2016) - developed by D4 Enterprise

World of Final Fantasy (2016) - developed by Tose

Star Ocean anamnesis (2016-present) - developed by tri-Ace

SaGa Scarlet Grace (2016) - co-developed by studio R.E.E.L

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (2017)

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX (2017)

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age (2017) - developed by Virtuos

Final Fantasy IX - PS4 (2017) - developed by Guild Studio

Star Ocean: The Last Hope - 4K & Full HD Remaster (2017) - developed by tri-Ace

World of Final Fantasy Meli-Melo (2017-present) - developed by Drecom and ForwardWorks

Final Fantasy Explorers-Force (2018) - developed by *unknown*

Kingdom Hearts III (2018)

Left Alive (2018) - developed by *unknown*

BD4

Executive: Ichiro Hazama

Pictlogica Final Fantasy (2013-present) - developed by Jupiter

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call (2014) - developed by indieszero

Final Fantasy Record Keeper (2014-present) - developed by DeNA

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (2015) - developed by indieszero

Dissidia Final Fantasy (2015-present) - developed by Team Ninja

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival (2016-present) - developed by indieszero

Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia (2017-present) - developed by Team Ninja

BD5

Executive: Naoki Yoshida

Final Fantasy XIV (2013-present)

Final Fantasy Grandmasters (2015-present) - developed by Crooz

Dragon Quest Builders (2016)

Final Fantasy XI Mobile (TBA) - developed by Nexon

Dragon Quest Builders II (TBA)

BD6

Executive: Yu Miyake

Dragon Quest X (2012-present) - co-developed by Orca

Dragon Quest Monsters 2 - 3DS remake (2014) - developed by Tose

Dragon Quest Heroes (2015) - developed by Omega Force

Bravely Second: End Layer (2015) - developed by Silicon Studio

Dragon Quest VIII - 3DS (2015) - developed by Tose

Hoshi No Dragon Quest (2015-present) - developed by Game Studio

Fortune Tellers Academy (2016-present) - developed by Digital Works Entertainment

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3 (2016) - developed by Tose

Dragon Quest Heroes II (2016) - developed by Omega Force

Nier Automata (2017) - developed by PlatinumGames

Bravely Default: Fairy's Effect (2017-present) - developed by Silicon Studio

Dragon Quest XI (2017) - co-developed by Orca (PS4) and Toylogic (3DS)

Fortune Street Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary (2017) - developed by Tose

Dragon Quest Rivals (2017-present) - developed by Tose

Octopath Traveler (2018) - developed by Acquire

BD7

Executive: Takamasa Shiba

Dragon Quest Monsters Super Light (2014-present) - developed by Cygames

Figureheads (2016-present) - developed by Silicon Studio

Gunslinger Stratos 3 (2016-present) - developed by Byking

Dragon Quest Monster Battle Scanner (2016-present) - developed by Marvelous

Lord of Vermilion IV (2017-present) - developed by Think Garage

BD8

Executives: Kei Hirono and Tomohiro Hasegawa

Final Fantasy VI - remaster (2014) - developed by Matrix Software

Dragon Sky (2014-present) - developed by Poppin Games Japan

Dragon Quest IV - iOS & Android (2014) - developed by ArtePiazza

Dragon Quest II - iOS & Android (2014) - developed by Matrix Software

Dragon Quest III - iOS & Android (2014) - developed by Matrix Software

Secret of Mana - Android (2014) - developed by *unknown*

Dragon Quest V - iOS & Android (2014) - developed by ArtePiazza

Final Fantasy Dimensions II (2015-2017) - developed by Matrix Software

Dragon Quest VI - iOS & Android (2015) - developed by ArtePiazza

Imperial SaGa (2015-present) - developed by Think & Feel

Dragon Quest VII - iOS & Android (2015) - developed by ArtePiazza

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (2015-present) - developed by gumi

Adventures of Mana (2016) - co-developed by MCF

Romancing SaGa 2 - remaster (2016) - developed by ArtePiazza

Hanjuku Hero: Aa, Sekaiyo Hanjukunare...! - iOS and Android (2017) - developed by *unknown*

Battle of Blades (2017) - developed by *unknown*

Secret of Mana - remake (2018) - co-developed by Q Studios

Romancing SaGa 3 - remaster (2018) - developed by ArtePiazza

BD9

Executives: Joji Yamanaka and Toshinori Mizumachi

Dragon Quest Monster Parade (2013-present) - developed by Zener Works

School Girl Strikers (2014-present)

Star Ocean: Second Evolution - Download Version (2015) - developed by Gemdrops

Grimms Notes (2016-present) - developed by Genki

Valkyrie Anatomia -The Origin- (2016-present) - developed by DokiDoki Groove Works

School Girl Strikers - Twinkle Melodies (2017-present) - developed by R-Force Entertainment

BD10

Executive: Yuki Watanabe

Chaos Rings III (2014) - developed by Media.Vision

Cosmos Rings (2016) - developed by *unknown*

Million Arthur - PS4 & PS Vita (2016) - developed by BeXide

Kai-Ri-Sei Million Arthur VR (2017) - developed by Gree VR Studio

Aozora Under Girls (2017) - developed by h.a.n.d

Million Arthur Arcana Blood (2017) - developed by Exam

Mashiro Witch: Marchen of Midnight (2018) - developed by *unknown*