Instead, the company intends to use the money to develop and enhance its own gaming IP.
In May, Square Enix announced a deal with Embracer Group to sell Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal as well as a number of the company's major IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain.
During the earnings call for FY2022, Square Enix detailed the objectives behind the sale of the studios, saying that among others, it intends to invest more in technologies like NFT, blockchain, AI, and cloud to facilitate the launch and monetization of new businesses.
However, as a part of the recent financial results briefing, the company clarified that the money from the sale of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal will not be used in investments in industries like NFT and blockchain. Instead, Square Enix wants to further develop and enhance its own gaming IP.
"Rather than using the proceeds from the divestiture in new investment domains such as NFT and blockchain, we intend to use them primarily to fund our efforts to foster solid IP and to enhance our development capabilities in our core Digital Entertainment segment," Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda shared.
He also added that the money for investing in technologies like NFT and blockchain will be raised separately from the company's "core business". "We are considering various possibilities, including potentially
establishing a CVC," he said.
Square Enix also stated that it doesn't plan to focus entirely on online games, but this segment still remains a priority for the company and it intends to develop such titles that "offer greater scalability and flexibility."
You can find an outline of the company's financial results briefing here. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.