Sega promises fewer new games but deeper investments in Sonic, Atlus, and Like a Dragon
Sega plans to ‘reinforce’ its core studios through hiring and M&A
Sega is planning to release fewer new games in the next year, but invest in its Persona, Sonic and Like a Dragon studios, it’s said.
During its current business year, which ends on March 31, the Japanese publisher has released more than seven full titles, including Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Sonic X Shadow Generations, and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii.
Asked about its plans for the next fiscal year, which runs from April 2025 until March 2026, Sega said it would release fewer full games overall.
Currently, the company’s announced ‘full’ games (so those that aren’t free-to-play) include Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and Project Century, plus its legacy IP revivals for Virtua Fighter, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, and Streets of Rage.
“The plan is currently being formulated, but we expect the volume of new titles in Full Game to be lower than this fiscal year,” Sega said of its plans for the upcoming period.
“On the other hand, we expect continuous revenue contribution from repeat sales of new titles in Full Game this fiscal year and full-scale revenue contribution from new titles in F2P.”
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During its earnings Q&A, Sega was also asked if it was considering acquiring any external studios to bolster its development efforts. It replied that it would like to strengthen Persona studio Atlus, as well as Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and Sonic Team, through hiring and M&A.
“Atlus is an important studio for us to expand Japanese IPs overseas and we think it is necessary to strengthen it, and the studios involved in the Sonic and Like a Dragon IPs are also short of staff, and we are looking to reinforce personnel through additional hiring and M&A,” it said.
During the first three quarters of its current fiscal year (the nine months ended on December 31, 2024), Sega said it sold nearly 20 million new games, which includes at least 2 million sales of Sonic X Shadow Generations, and 1 million sales of Metaphor: ReFantazio.
It also sold nearly 12 million units of legacy titles. “In addition to Persona 5 Royal and Unicorn Overlord, past titles in the Sonic series have also contributed to repeat sales,” it said.
Sega’s president recently revealed that the company is looking into the possibility of launching a subscription service for video games. “We’re thinking something – and discussing something – we cannot disclose right now,” he said.
