Square Enix Plans To Replace President Yosuke Matsuda, But Won't Replace The Blockchain Ideas

In just a few months, a new face will be running things at Square Enix. The developer/publisher announced “proposed changes” to the position of Representative Director. That would be President Yosuke Matsuda’s other title, for those keeping track. The proposal indicates that Matsuda is to be replaced by Director Takashi Kiryu, who will take on the role of President and Representative Director for Square Enix in June – provided everything is approved.

Now, before you get all excited and start thinking that this change is Square trying to get rid of the NFT guy for being the NFT guy – as we saw people suggesting in other places, that doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, the proposal notes that it is the “rapid change of business environment surrounding the entertainment industry” that brought this on. It also states that the “change is intended to reshape the management team with the goal of adopting ever-evolving technological innovations”. That alone would seem to indicate that Square Enix doesn’t intend to drop the talk on blockchain and NFTs.

Following the announcement, both Matsuda and Kiryu held a conference where they discussed the planned change. According to their statements, Matsuda has been preparing to step down for a while, apparently intending to do so after hitting the tenth anniversary of when he came on as CEO. As the change is intended to take place in June, he’ll be hitting that mark.

As for Kiryu, his work history prior to coming to Square Enix also seems to indicate that he’ll be continuing with plans to implement blockchain technology into the company’s properties. Prior to joining the developer, he worked at an R&D group that scouted “new and disruptive technologies”. Among those were blockchain and Web 3.0.

It’s also worth remembering that even Final Fantasy XIV’s Producer, Yoshi-P isn’t exactly anti-NFT. He just doesn’t want it in that game. He has expressed an interest in the technology and how it might be useful in some properties.