Stephane D’Astous criticized Square Enix’s dismissive attitude toward Eidos Montréal as well as other Western studios like Crystal Dynamics, in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. He conjectured that its recent sale to Embracer Group was motivated by a rumored acquisition of Square Enix by Sony. D’Astous, who established Eidos Montreal in 2007 and left the firm in 2013, recalled his early optimism that Square Enix, who bought the business two years after Montréal’s formation, would revitalize it: Square Enix’s decision to shift from developing superhero games to Eidos’ legacy brands, including signing a new multi-project contract with Marvel in 2013, was also seen by D’Astous as being unwise. D’Astous says that although Square Enix’s Japanese stakeholders bear some of the blame for the way the company handled its Western studios. He does, however, assert that a rumored Sony takeover of Square Enix Tokyo was the trigger for the recent sale of Square Enix’s Western studios to Embracer company. Square Enix has a reputation for labeling titles with millions of sales as failures, and according to D’Astous, this practice also went on behind the scenes. He remembers a discussion about the business’s financial performance for 2012 when the Eidos studios’ estimated profit was $65 million. Instead, he learned that year the developers had suffered a $65 million loss. The expectation is that under Embracer, which frequently permits its subsidiaries to function independently, Eidos Montréal, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montreal may experience a fresh second chance at life.
