As first reported by VGC (opens in new tab), Square Enix has announced plans to oust President Yosuke Matsuda (opens in new tab). After shareholder approval, Matsuda will be replaced in 2020 by Takashi Kiryu, who came to the company from the management of Dentsu Innovation Initiative (opens in new tab).

Since succeeding Yoichi Wada in 2013, Matsuda's management has been a mixed bag. The PC version of "Final Fantasy 7 Remake" will take more than a year, and "Final Fantasy 16" will take more than six months (opens in new tab).

It is also worth noting that the publisher has, more broadly, become synonymous with low-quality PC ports (opens in new tab): Stranger of Paradise Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins, Forspoken and Final Fantasy 7 Remake all boasted varying degrees of stuttering, low FPS limits, and limited options menus. During Matsuda's tenure, Square Enix's Western development companies (open in new tab) were also cut off, with Eidos Montreal, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montreal being sold to the Embracer Group.

And of course, the elephant in the room: Matsuda still loves blockchain, even after crypto's spectacular shrinkage in late 2022 and the investigation and prosecution of several major exchanges. We are most committed and aggressive in our blockchain investments," Matsuda wrote at the beginning of the year (opens in new tab)."

Now, one might expect that this tone-deaf commitment would have prompted Matsuda's ouster, despite the fact that crypto boosters have been left holding the bag after the market collapse, but that seems highly doubtful. Incoming President Kiryu's previous position at Dentsu was "scouting for disruptive new technologies," not something that would allow JRPGs to run at arbitrary frame rates above 60fps. The company is heavy on buzzwords like NFT, Metaverse, and Web 3.0, all of which seem oddly outdated now that kids are into AI.

If the head of Square Enix is replaced, I'm still not worried. Besides, as long as they let my man, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, rest in peace, they can mint the Kate Sisu NFT line to their heart's content. The slime NFT in Dragon Quest 12 is when I'm breaking the glass.