Square Enix Revenue Up On 'Rise Of The Tomb Raider' And 'Just Cause 3', Strong Mobile Sales

Rise of the Tomb Raider Review — "Rise of the Tomb Raider" continues the adventures of young Lara Croft. The reviews are in and the game delivers some fantastic gameplay. Xbox/Microsoft

Square Enix reported solid year-over-year growth for sales and operating income in the nine months that ended Dec. 31, the company announced in its earnings report Thursday. The Japanese developer cited strong starts from PC, mobile and console entries "Rise of the Tomb Raider" and "Just Cause 3" as contributing to the growth.

For the three months covering the holiday season, Square Enix had sales of 66.4 billion yen and income of 11.2 billion yen, based on the results from the previously released first half earnings and Thursday's report.

For the consolidated nine-months of its fiscal year, Square Enix reported sales of 152.76 billion yen, a 28.5 percent increase year-over-year. Operating income increased 60.5 percent to 23.8 billion yen for the nine-month period that ended Dec. 31.

While Square Enix did not release sales figures for "Rise of the Tomb Raider" and "Just Cause 3," the company said each game had a "solid start."

"Rise of the Tomb Raider" was an Xbox One exclusive when it was released on Nov. 10, 2015. The critically acclaimed game was debuted on the PC on Jan. 28, 2016. A PS4 release is scheduled for later in the year. "Just Cause 3" was released Dec. 1 for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

In August 2015, Square Enix reported "Final Fantasy XIV" had 5 million registered users but did not report the number of active subscriptions. In its report Thursday, Square Enix noted "FFXIV" continued to perform well.

"Final Fantasy XIV" was not the massively multiplayer online experience many RPG fans were hoping for when the game was released in 2010. A few apologies and several years of development led to "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn" in 2013. That game was well-received by fans and the expansion "Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward" was released in 2015.

2012's "Dragon Quest X" was another strong PC performer.

A trio of mobile offerings was also credited for the increase in sales and income. "Mobius Final Fantasy," released in June 2015, the free-to-play "Hoshi No Dragon Quest" and "Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius" were big hits for Square Enix.