Posts ‘extraordinary loss’ in May financials
[Update:IO Interactivehas taken to Twitterin response. There’s not much to glean from the post, but it seems like IO will have a lot to say later, possibly about Square’shistory with high expectations.]
@dannyodwyer@JamesGHBray@ynakamura56Thanks for the support, Danny. There’s a lot going on right now and we’ll have more to say at a later point. For now, back to making games.
— Io-Interactive (@IOInteractive)June 21, 2025
Today, Square Enix announced that it has “decided to withdraw from the business of IO Interactive,” a Square-owned studio responsible for theHitmanseries – including last year’scritically acclaimedHitman– as well theKane and Lynchgames & cult classic one-offFreedom Fighters.
The news comes from Square Enix’s quarterly financial report, which you can findhere. According to thepress release, Square has “started discussions with potential new investors and is currently in negotiations to secure this investment,” which likely means they’re looking to sell the company. There’s currently no word as to what might happen if Square fails to secure funding for the Danish studio, but we’ve sent a request for comment and will update the story as necessary. The press release also fails to mention what might happen to the ownership of IO’s many properties, includingHitman.
The break-up will cost Square Enix “4,898 million yen” orapproximately$42 million USD. That comes out to about 14% of Square’s operating profit of 33,310 million yen (around$292 million), which is curious. Square Enix isn’t doing poorly overall, reporting consistent increase in year over year sales and earnings. Its liability cost has dropped, but its “selling, general, and administrative expenses” have marginally gone up, as you can expect when a mainlineFinal Fantasygame needs to be shipped – nothing unexpected.
So we’re not looking at a company that needs to tighten its belt after a poor quarter; the simple explanation is thatHitmanlikely didn’t sell well enough to convince Square that IO was worth the money. Square’s press release says the split is motivated by an increased focus on “key franchises and studios,” which implies a lot of crummy things aboutHitman’snumbers.
Despite hypothetically low sales, IO Interactive has continued to support last year’sHitmanwith Escalation contracts and limited-time Elusive Targets, even posting acontent schedule for Maylast week Thursday.
