Square Enix’s Plan to Release Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest Games More Regularly

The shift follows a period of extremely long development cycles for Square Enix’s biggest RPG franchises.

For example, about seven years separated Final Fantasy XV (2016) and Final Fantasy XVI (2023), while Dragon Quest XII has still not launched roughly nine years after Dragon Quest XI debuted in 2017.

Such long gaps create major challenges for the company:

• Revenue becomes uneven because blockbuster releases arrive only occasionally.
• Each tentpole game carries more financial risk.
• Fans wait many years between mainline entries in core series.

Square Enix has acknowledged this issue and says it is making “steady progress” toward a development framework that enables regular new title launches for major intellectual properties.

The “Reboots and Awakens” Strategy

The company’s medium‑term plan for fiscal years 2025–2027 outlines a broad reset of its game business. The strategy is described internally as a “three‑year reboot for long‑term growth.”

Key objectives include:

Improving Development Productivity

Square Enix plans to optimize the development footprint of its Digital Entertainment division by restructuring studios and improving how projects are managed.

This includes reviewing the domestic studio portfolio, strengthening development management systems, and streamlining the overall production pipeline.

Prioritizing Fewer, Higher‑Quality Titles

The company is shifting away from a scattered slate of projects toward a more selective portfolio focused on major releases and stronger franchise entries.

The goal is to ensure resources are concentrated on games with the highest long‑term potential.

Expanding Multiplatform Releases

Another major change is a stronger multiplatform strategy for HD titles, allowing games to launch across more platforms simultaneously rather than being tied to a single ecosystem.

This approach aims to maximize the audience for each major release while improving the return on development investment.

Strengthening IP Value

Square Enix also plans to expand the value of its major intellectual properties through broader cross‑media initiatives and ongoing engagement with fans.

The Creative Studio Model

A core part of the restructuring is a shift in how internal teams are organized.

Square Enix has revamped the traditional “Development Business Unit” structure and is moving toward a model built around Creative Studios and shared technical resources.

The goals of this change include:

• Integrating knowledge and tools across studios
• Sharing development technology and engines
• Strengthening in‑house development capabilities
• Improving schedule and project management

Instead of isolated teams working independently, the new structure is designed to encourage collaboration and standardized processes across projects.

Over time, this should reduce duplicated work and make it easier for the company to scale development across multiple franchises simultaneously.

Financial Results Reinforcing the Strategy

Square Enix’s latest financial results highlight why this restructuring is happening.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, the company reported:

• Net sales: ¥297.661 billion (down 8.3% year‑over‑year)
• Operating income: ¥54.736 billion (up 34.9%)
• Ordinary income: ¥64.469 billion (up 57.5%)
• Net profit: ¥29.616 billion (up 21.3%)

The numbers show a notable pattern: revenue declined while profitability improved.

The drop in sales partly reflects the absence of major new blockbuster releases during the period. But stronger operating profit indicates that tighter cost control, more disciplined project selection, and restructuring efforts are improving margins.

In other words, Square Enix is becoming more efficient even before its new pipeline begins delivering a steadier stream of large releases.

What This Means for Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest

If the overhaul works as intended, Square Enix hopes to move away from unpredictable, multi‑year gaps between flagship titles.

Instead, the company aims to build a development framework that allows:

• More regular launches of major franchise entries
• Better coordination between teams and studios
• Higher production quality with controlled development costs

However, the company has not promised specific release intervals for future mainline entries in series like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. The goal is a more reliable pipeline—not necessarily annual or fixed‑cycle releases.

The Bigger Picture

The restructuring represents one of the largest operational shifts in Square Enix’s recent history. By reorganizing studios, adopting a multiplatform strategy, and focusing investment on fewer major projects, the publisher is attempting to balance creative ambition with sustainable production schedules.

If successful, the result could be a more predictable cadence of blockbuster RPG releases—something fans of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have been waiting nearly a decade to see.