Part 9/13:
The company's California office, located near LAX and operating for over two decades, could be on the chopping block altogether. With the decline of Western markets for Japanese-style role-playing games and the overextension into Western-centric themes—like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and Netflix-style crossover content—Square Enix appears to be pulling back from previous overreach.
Industry insiders, including social media users, suggest that the Western staff’s contribution was increasingly marginal, primarily producing merchandise or marketing content rather than core game development. There’s a sentiment that the company’s focus on Western markets, driven by American and European consumer fads, has been detrimental.