Final Fantasy 15 Ships 5 Million Copies, Achieves Fastest Start Ever for the Franchise

Final Fantasy XV is off to a hot start. Square Enix announced today that the long-awaited RPG has shipped 5 million copies worldwide following its launch on November 29 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The news comes from a Japanese press release that was translated by Siliconera. It also explains that the five million figure includes digital sales and that Final Fantasy XV has become the fastest-selling entry in the series to date. Shipment figures pertain to the number of copies sent to retailers, and does not necessarily represent how many have actually been sold to consumers.

The game was the first in the longrunning franchise to launch globally on the same day. According to Famitsu (via Siliconera), the game also set a new record for launch-day digital sales in Japan.

Earlier this year, Final Fantasy XV director Hajima Tabata said the game needs to sell 10 million copies to be a "success." He later clarified that comment, stating that 10 million is the studio's personal goal, not necessarily how many units it needs to move to turn a profit.

It was a long road to release for Final Fantasy XV, as the game was announced as Final Fantasy Versus XIII more than a decade ago, during E3 2006. At E3 2013, the game was renamed as Final Fantasy XV. It was delayed multiple times after that before landing at its November 29 date.

GameSpot's Final Fantasy XV review scored it an 8/10.

"While it's safe to assume fans and outsiders will find some aspect of Final Fantasy XV disappointing--be it the shallow story or finnicky Astrals--it would be hard for anyone to deny that Final Fantasy XV is a fascinating game after giving it a chance," reviewer Peter Brown said. "Where its characters fail to impress, Final Fantasy XV's beautiful world and exciting challenges save the day."

For more on the critical reaction to Final Fantasy, check out this review roundup.