At its 46th Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on June 24, the creators of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Square Enix, spoke about their expanding collection of discontinued live-service games and their approach to game archiving.
Although live-service games can generate significant revenue for gaming companies, their high maintenance costs and an overcrowded market (resulting in an average lifespan of roughly 2 to 3 years) make them a risky venture. Square Enix has made several attempts to succeed in the mobile gaming sector over the past decade, leaving behind dozens of games that were essentially abandoned after their servers closed. Prominent examples of their shut down titles include Dragon Quest of the Stars, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, and NieR Re[in]carnation.
Regarding the recent debate over an unauthorized “offline” version of NieR Re[in]carnation created by fans, a shareholder inquired about Square Enix’s position, suggesting the company should take the lead in preserving and continuing its intellectual properties.
The company clarified that how they allow players to experience a live-service game after server shutdown depends on the IP’s nature: “For instance, for the NieR series, we share information through official live streams. For other titles, we save cutscenes on video streaming platforms.”
While the company’s response was somewhat ambiguous, they reassured shareholders that they would “continue to create appropriate methods for each title to ensure players can enjoy them even after service ends or the story concludes.” It remains unclear whether Square Enix is developing any official solutions to preserve NieR Re[in]carnation’s narrative.
Notably, the recently unveiled Final Fantasy Resonance represents a unique case of Square Enix’s efforts to save a live-service game by converting it into a console title. As producer Keisuke Nakashima explained in a recent conversation, “Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is […] packed with elements that scream ‘Final Fantasy.’ I felt it would be a shame for such an excellent game to become unplayable on mobile, which is why I decided to develop Final Fantasy Resonance for consoles.” Although Final Fantasy Resonance is based on FFBE while overhauling much of its art and mechanics, it’s intriguing to observe Square Enix’s attempts to rescue their discontinued mobile games.