Square Enix has announced they are taking Triangle Strategy off of the Nintendo Switch eShop.
They made this statement on Twitter:
“Triangle Strategy is temporarily unavailable to purchase on Nintendo Switch eShop. Those who have already bought the game will be able to download it.
We are working on this and will update when the game is able to be purchased again.”
Triangle Strategy is a turn-based strategy game in the same vein as Nintendo’s Fire Emblem and Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Tactics. The game is a collaboration between Square Enix and Artdink. However, producing the title is Tomoya Asano, of Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler fame.
While they didn’t share more details on this delisting as of this time, most gamers already think they know what to expect. That’s because the same thing happened previously with Octopath Traveler.
Octopath Traveler was also delisted from the Switch eShop, only to be brought back shortly after. Notably, Nintendo was the original publisher of the game on the Switch, but in its return, publishing had reverted back to Square Enix.
Octopath Traveler also happened to get ported to PlayStation and Xbox after it was removed and brought back to the eShop. So, fans expect that Triangle Strategy will also be returned to the eShop, and that it will eventually get releases on PlayStation and especially Xbox.
Now, it’s easy to see the bigger picture on this as well. Last May, Square Enix revealed that they would be shifting gears towards a multiplatform strategy moving forward. While most of the attention went to the longstanding relationship between PlayStation and the Final Fantasy franchise, it affected Nintendo too.
To be specific, some gamers may take this for granted, but Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy were both clearly made with the Switch in mind. Square Enix was right to not want to miss out on Switch’s impressive use base, but their games have not had the long tail that Nintendo’s first party titles did.
Still, it’s clear that both parties did benefit from this business arrangement, with these games being very critically successful, and having decent sales. Nintendo seems fine with going along with Square Enix’s new direction, so they just waited out whatever clauses there were for an exclusivity contract for Triangle Strategy.
While the game itself isn’t a particular cult favorite or AAA blockbuster, a potential multiplatform release will be seen as a win for Xbox over PlayStation. Triangle Strategy is already on Steam, as well as the Meta Quest VR platforms, so Nintendo’s contract probably covered other consoles.
Square Enix has been recently making public overtures to bring more games to Xbox. For those fans who don’t get it; this isn’t about making friction with Nintendo or PlayStation fans, but to win over Xbox fans, who have been missing out on Square Enix’s games for decades.
We can’t say that Triangle Strategy will suddenly become a bigger title on PlayStation and Xbox, but a Triangle Strategy 2 that releases on all platforms at the same time could be a grand return for Japanese strategy games on a global stage. And to set that up, Square Enix would have to do this first.
