Square Enix (SQNXF) celebrated a new sales milestone as its Final Fantasy video game series reached 200 million total sales. The company said this was thanks to increased sales of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, which are remakes of the first six games in the series. These hit 5 million units sold, jumping 2 million from the 3 million sold as of September 2023.
Final Fantasy is one of Square Enix’s blockbuster series with 16 mainline releases and nearly 100 spinoff titles. Unfortunately for SQNXF investors, the series has faltered lately after Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy XVI failed to meet the developer’s expectations. The same was also true for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second game in a sequel series to the original Final Fantasy VII, when it was first released. However, the game’s PC launch earlier this year helped make up for that disappointment.
What This Means for Square Enix
The Final Fantasy series has struggled after Square Enix fell into the trap of modern AAA game development. This has led to ever-growing budgets for new games, which ultimately fail to meet the company’s incredibly high expectations.
The latest data showed Final Fantasy XVI sales at 3.5 million units. That failed to meet Square Enix’s long-term sales expectations. It also comes in below the 5 million Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster units sold. Perhaps Square Enix will take this as a sign to embrace the classic turn-based formula that made the series popular in the first place, instead of chasing realistic graphics and flashy action gameplay.
Is SQNXF Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Square Enix is Moderate Sell based on three Hold and two Sell ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average price target of $39.71, a high of $51.28, and a low of $29.49. This represents a potential 13.67% downside for SQNXF stock.
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