Consumer thirst for PS4, Xbox One games helps Tomb Raider and Square Enix

Square Enix doesn’t look like it’s going to default, bravely or otherwise, any time soon.

The Japanese publisher posted a notice to investors that it is revising the forecast for its upcoming earnings report. Square Enix will report the results of its fiscal year, which ended March 31, on Tuesday, and the Final Fantasy publisher is revealing that it will likely report sales of $1.52 billion. That’s outside its projection forecast of $1.38 billion to $1.48 billion. The reason for the overcoming its high expectations? Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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The massively multiplayer online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn saw “strong” sales, according to Square Enix. On consoles and handhelds, Final fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster also performed well. But “favorable” sales of titles on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 also played a big part in the publisher’s turnaround.

The company reported “favorable” sales of Thief and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. Both of these are cross-gen releases that consumers can get on both old and new machines. With software sales tapering off quickly on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Square Enix benefited by releasing its games on the newer systems.

In addition to the console and PC releases, Square Enix cited the mobile game Dragon Quest Monsters: Super Light for getting off to an “encouraging start.” It debuted in Japan in January. That market is second only to the U.S. in the sheer amount of money that people spend on mobile games.

Of course, nothing goes with blockbuster game releases quite like corporate cost-cutting.

“The company also pushed forward cost reduction efforts on a group-wide basis,” reads the publisher’s note to investors.

Square Enix also saw gains thanks to the weak position of the yen. This provides a favorable exchange rate for overseas sales.

This news comes about a year after Square Enix shook up its management. In March of last year, Yoichi Wada stepped down as president. Square Enix board member Yosuke Matsuda replaced him. Wada took responsibility for the company’s “extraordinary” loses, which amounted to $134 million for the 2013 fiscal year.

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Funnily, Tomb Raider (the same game but not the Definitive Edition) took the brunt of the blame as the company said the action title didn’t meet its expectations. The game eventually did overcome its lofty forecast — but only after the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 releases.