According to Eurogamer.net, 3D Investment Partners, the third-largest shareholder in Square Enix with a 14.36% stake, has released a scathing 100-page document urging a “fundamental reassessment” of the company’s management plan. The Singapore-based activist investor began building its stake in April 2025 and went public with its critique after being dissatisfied with CEO Takashi Kiryu’s response in October. The report slams Square Enix for stagnating profits, declining game sales, and excessive development costs, attributing problems to platform exclusivity and poor ad spending. It specifically highlights that games like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth initially failed to meet sales expectations, and compares Square Enix unfavorably to rivals Capcom and Konami. This comes as Square Enix undergoes a “fundamental restructuring” involving mass layoffs overseas and an aim to use generative AI for 70% of QA work by 2027.
The Activist Investor Playbook
Here’s the thing about a 100-page shareholder report: it’s a weapon, not just an analysis. 3D Investment Partners is clearly playing the activist game, trying to rally other shareholders to their cause with a barrage of data and comparisons. Their goal seems less about offering a detailed roadmap and more about creating enough pressure to oust CEO Takashi Kiryu. And you have to look at their timing. They’re pouncing when Square Enix is visibly vulnerable, right after admitting high-profile sales disappointments and announcing painful layoffs. The report picks its battles, using selective Metacritic sentiment to bash games like Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake—which was actually a sales success. It’s a messy, aggressive move, but that’s often how these corporate fights start.
Square Enix’s Real Problems
But even if the report has an agenda, it’s hard to argue with the core diagnosis. Square Enix has been lost in the wilderness for years. They’ve chased expensive, long-term AAA projects with inconsistent results, while seemingly neglecting their legendary back catalog and broader media potential. The report’s point about a “lack of synergy with non-gaming” is painfully accurate. Look at a franchise like Final Fantasy. Where’s the cohesive universe building? Compared to how Capcom has meticulously stewarded Resident Evil or how anyone with a successful IP monetizes it, Square Enix feels decades behind. And their platform strategy has been a self-inflicted wound. Years of PlayStation exclusivity for major titles like Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16 absolutely limited their sales potential and audience growth. Their new multiplatform push is the right idea, but it’s a late reaction to a problem everyone else saw coming.
The Competitive Landscape Is Brutal
Comparing Square Enix to Capcom and Konami really drives the point home. Capcom is a machine—it delivers high-quality, critically acclaimed games (Monster Hunter, Resident Evil) on a reliable schedule and sells them everywhere. Konami has brilliantly pivoted to milking its classic IPs with remakes and nostalgia plays. Square Enix? It’s trying to do both and mastering neither. Its development costs are reportedly ballooning, while its revenue isn’t keeping pace. In a market where players have endless choices, you can’t afford to have your tentpole releases like Final Fantasy 16 “fail to meet expectations.” That phrase is corporate-speak for a financial disaster. And while the company is trying to cut costs with AI and layoffs, that feels like treating a symptom. The disease is a lack of clear, sustainable creative and business direction.
What Happens Next?
So where does this leave one of gaming’s most iconic companies? At a genuine crossroads. The shareholder pressure is now a public spectacle, which makes Kiryu’s position incredibly shaky. The promised multiplatform future for Final Fantasy is a step, but is it enough? Basically, Square Enix needs to prove it can execute. Can it release a major, profitable AAA game on all platforms simultaneously? Can it better leverage its insane library of IP without just doing endless, expensive remakes? The report, for all its bluster, is a wake-up call. The era of relying solely on the Final Fantasy brand to print money, regardless of strategy, is over. The market has changed, the competition is fiercer, and shareholders are out of patience. Square Enix’s next move needs to be a masterpiece, both creatively and commercially.
