Plummeting by a staggering 30% from its summit earlier this year, Square Enix’s stock sees a colossal 2 billion coin vanishment after the release of FFXVI.

Square Enix stock plummeted by approximately 30%, compared to its peak earlier this year, in the lead-up to the release of Final Fantasy XVI, resulting in a loss of more than 2 billion coins in company value. The stock reached its yearly high on June 20th, just before the release of Final Fantasy XVI on June 22nd, but steadily declined thereafter. This significant drop was further exacerbated by the company’s disappointing financial results and underperformance of FF XVI sales, despite favorable reviews. One contributing factor was the exclusive availability of FF XVI on PS5, which had a price reduction of 20% just three months after its launch, raising questions about its overall sales performance.

According to Bloomberg, Square Enix faced not only the challenge of lackluster FF XVI sales but a larger issue relating to game quality control, development planning, and the long-standing structure of its teams. Prior to this, the company also faced criticism for other high-profile games such as Marvel’s Avengers, Forspoken, as well as mobile games like Bravely Default: Brilliant Lights and Echoes of Mana, which reflected the aforementioned problems.

TLDR: Square Enix’s stock took a significant hit, dropping by around 30% following the release of Final Fantasy XVI, resulting in a loss of more than 2 billion coins in company value. This decline can be attributed to underwhelming sales, questionable game development practices, and long-standing organizational issues.