Square Enix names Final Fantasy XIV as the reason for financial success in 2021

Sales did have to be paused, after all.

Image via Square Enix

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Square Enix is responsible for much more than Final Fantasy in 2021 — Marvel’s Guardians of the Guardians released in the fall, as an example — but it’s still Final Fantasy XIV that keeps getting all the attention from the publisher. The MMO is credited with Square Enix’s financial success last year.

Square’s financial report includes a 17.1% increase in profits, bolstered by a 4% gain in sales. For those who can’t read the report in its native text, Twitter darling @ZhugeEX (aka analyst Daniel Ahmad) collated some of the data in a tweet. Growing subscriber numbers for Final Fantasy XIV, sales for the Endwalker expansion, and merchandise profits are called out specifically. Dragon Quest X and its Heroes of the Heavenly Stars expansions were also credited, but that MMO is only for Japan. Final Fantasy XIV is a global hit.

Square Enix has increased its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year, citing the following:

– Substantial growth in the number of paying subscribers for FFXIV.
– Brisk expansion pack sales for its MMO games.
– Sales of character merchandise via merchandising segment pic.twitter.com/gilF54l1vJ
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 4, 2022

In fact, it’s such a hit that sales had to be suspended because its servers were too congested. Players were waiting hours to log in to the game after the Endwalker expansion arrived in late November. Digital sales eventually returned a few weeks into the new year, with data center expansions put in place to accommodate new players. If a game is so popular that it can’t even be sold for a few months, it’s no wonder Square Enix credits it for raising its yearly profits.