Square Enix has announced plans to wrap up its Web3 venture Symbiogenesis in July and discontinue its services. While the platform produced iconic role-playing games such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Symbiogenesis was predicted to be a hit blockbuster.
The project was launched when the non-fungible token (NFT) market’s fatigue reached its peak in 2023, failing to meet the low expectations of players in the sector. The project began as a game where players could purchase NFT-based characters and travel across a mystery multi-chapter fantasy. The growing fatigue in the market was another factor, with the usual players burnt out from other projects.
While the project promised excitement with its 10,000 NFT characters and promise of utility, the underwhelming reception it received was a surprise, especially considering the fact that it came from a renowned publisher like Square Enix.
Square Enix to shutter Symbiogenesis in July
According to reports, Symbiogenesis did not offer users any financial incentives for playing, nor did it offer much in terms of gameplay. The project was supposed to follow legendary projects like Axie Infinity or Off The Grid but refused to adopt their mechanism. Aside from allowing players to sell and buy characters and items in the games, it offered little return on investment. Players mentioned at the time that even at their peak, most of these items sold for a couple of thousand dollars.
The gameplay, according to players, consisted of a treasure hunt across the Floating Island, a setting that the developers made. Players could earn points, unlock story content, craft and enhance their items, and rank up on the leaderboards.
Compared to some of the mobile games Square Enix has developed, the game was below par, according to the players. At best, it was seen as an experiment rather than a fully developed project.
Also, in the community-driven effort to reach the end of the story, only three players will be selected to play the final concluding mission, which meant that while they shared the final outcome of the story, everyone else would be an observer. This meant that Symbiogenesis was never a play-to-earn game with airdrops or a long lifespan.
In the beginning, Square Enix mentioned that the game will only have six chapters, but players and NFT holders have been frustrated with the latest announcement that the game will cease to be after the story is completed. The game is billed to finish its final X chapter on July 31, 2025, cutting active development and server support after that. The development came as a shocker, considering the developers announced new in-game activities and features to roll out in April or May.
Web3 gaming projects and the need to be stable
One of the few unfortunate things that kill most Web3 gaming projects are the twists and changes. Crypto users have been very hard to draw into NFT-based gaming projects, let alone gamers outside the crypto space. So when games, whether offering rewards or not, continue to make changes to projects that people have invested time and money in, they tend to lose trust.
While Square Enix wanted Symbiogenesis to be a finite experience, the project began to slip when the developers started to add changes like expanding the number of in-game NFTs that can be purchased. Square Enix jumped on the collectibles bandwagon in 2023 with the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary trading card series. While it is fair to say that Symbiogenesis was not promising returns which meant that it had its limitations, it succeeded to some degree.
It is also a positive for the video games industry, as many developers are moving away from such initiatives. But then, Square Enix has been a known player in the Web3 gaming scene, releasing several projects including The Sandbox. It has also partnered with development studios and networks like Elixir and HyperPlay. While Square Enix’s foray into the gaming scene may be quite worrying, the company has yet to make a wrong move in the scene.
