Square Enix Says Final Fantasy 16 Sales Are "Extremely Strong" On PS5

Responding to reports that Final Fantasy 16 sales had begun to lag--with a reported dramatic drop in sales in Japan during the game's second week of release--Square Enix says that sales for its flagship title are "extremely strong" and have sold relatively well on PlayStation 5. Speaking to IGN in a response to Bloomberg's article on Final Fantasy 16 sales "grappling with weak momentum," Square Enix pointed out the differences between the new game's sales when compared to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 15.

"With 38 million PS5 consoles shipped globally (as of March 31, 2023), sales of Final Fantasy 16 surpassed three million units worldwide several days after its release on June 22, 2023," Square Enix said. "Taking into consideration the sales figures of the acclaimed Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the difference in the size of the install base of the PlayStation 4 at the time of this title's release, we can see that the attach rate of Final Fantasy 16 is considerably high, given the PS5 install base. Square Enix considers the initial sales results of Final Fantasy 16 to be extremely strong, and we will continue to carry out a wide range of initiatives to encourage even more people to play the game."

Final Fantasy 7 Remake moved 3.5 million copies in three days when it first launched as a PlayStation 4 exclusive in April 2020, while Final Fantasy 15 managed to sell 5 million units on its first day when it launched in 2015 for PS4 and Xbox One. For now, Final Fantasy 16 is a PS5 exclusive, and as Ampere Analysis Louise Wooldridge pointed out to IGN, Final Fantasy 16 launched "into market conditions that were quite different" than the ones that Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 15 launched in.

"For example, Final Fantasy 16 is a PS5 exclusive, and it launched earlier in the PS5 lifecycle than Final Fantasy 7 Remake did in the PS4 lifecycle. When the PS5 active installed base is less than 40m globally, sales of three million are certainly not poor," Wooldrige explained. "This may be below Square Enix's expectations, but the launch environment and Mature rating of the game do limit its potential somewhat. Given the success achieved by (producer) Naoki Yoshida in turning around Final Fantasy 16, I imagine expectations were particularly high."

Wooldrige added that a rapid drop-off in sales in the days following the launch is also expected for an RPG, as initial sales are from core players and fans of the franchise.

As for the Japanese playerbase, Wooldridge said the perceived lack of sales in that region came down to the Nintendo Switch being more popular there and Final Fantasy 16's more mature tone alongside an older cast of characters, which Japanese gamers don't generally tend to gravitate towards. "Gamers in Japan broadly favor young characters. Final Fantasy 16 seems much more targeted to Western audiences--it lacks the traditional JRPG style," Wooldridge said.

Square Enix will release Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth next in early 2024, the second game in the rebooted Final Fantasy 7 trilogy. This middle chapter is shaping up to be its biggest Final Fantasy yet, as the physical edition is a two-disc behemoth.