Final Fantasy VII Rebirth reportedly sold nearly 2 million copies, according to player data. Quite a disappointing score.
It’s always a headache to understand and analyze the success of a game when the publisher does not reveal official figures. We often have to be satisfied with the sales of physical copies recorded in certain countries or to examine the number of simultaneous players on certain platforms, such as Steam. A more reliable method, on the other hand, is to investigate player tracking data found on console. This is also what the analysis company Ampere recently did for the recent Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Since Square Enix’s game is exclusive to the PlayStation 5, it was probably easier to gather this information to determine the number of players who purchased the title. However, let’s keep in mind that this is only unofficial estimates and it is better to be careful with these. That being said, Ampere would have concluded that at least 2 million copies (physical and dematerialized) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth have been sold since February 29. A score that might seem impressive, but which is in reality rather disappointing if it turns out to be true.
a franchise that is getting bogged down
As a reminder, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was voted “Most Anticipated Game” at the Game Awards 2023 (last December). Square Enix’s game indeed seemed to be one of the most exciting triple-A titles of 2024. And when it came out in February, it didn’t have no big competition. Neither Skull and Bones neither Suicide Squad indeed had no great chance of treading on its flowerbeds. Furthermore, criticism of this Final Fantasy were rave and the first feedback from the players was no less laudatory.
And yet, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth would underperform? Two million copies sold in more than a month is not bad of course, but it is significantly less than its predecessors. Final Fantasy 7 Remake (released on PS4) had sold 3.5 million copies in just three days. Final Fantasy XVIfor its part, has passed 3 million copies at its launch. And this, despite its mixed critical feedback and its exclusivity to the PS5 (like Rebirth). In both cases, Square Enix published their results on social networks. Which is not the case for Rebirthand reinforces suspicions of a disappointment for the Japanese publisher.
Even for Final Fantasy, the fight for success is tough
This loss of speed for the franchise is all the more worrying since it was already not doing that well, especially compared to other Sony exclusives. Still according to Square Enix, Final Fantasy 7 Remake (counting its version Intergrade) had sold 7 million copies as of September 2023more than three years after its release.
A figure which, once again, is not negligible, but which is not up to par with other games exclusive to the PlayStation. For example, Marvel’s Spider-Man has sold more than 22 million copies for the PS4. God of Warthat’s 21 million copies. Horizon Zero Dawn ? 19 million copies. And the list doesn’t stop there. Final Fantasy is far behind and yet the budget of these games should not be one of the smallest.
the rout of final fantasy
The community of fans Final Fantasy is obviously very engaged and active (the crowds on the MMO Final Fantasy 14 is there to prove it), but apparently remains a niche in the world of video games. A big niche, certainly… but a niche nonetheless. It doesn’t matter the quality of the latest games in the franchise (which we also liked at Écran Large). Square Enix seems not to be able to reach such a wide audience that others.
However, the studio has tried many things. Whether it is to reinvent its formula with Final Fantasy 16, or to rally the most nostalgic players with the reboot Final Fantasy 7. But nothing seems to work and, from one game to another, the sales curve declines.
Stellar Blade is coming and could well be the real commercial phenomenon of 2024
In the end, by claiming to be “the most anticipated game of the year”, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth seems to be the frog who wanted to be as big as the ox. And unless we have new, more encouraging official figures later, its commercial success risks experiencing very mixed results at the end of the year.
Especially since we have just learned (via the ShiftUp studio) that the demo of the brand new Stellar Blade is now twice as popular than had been that of Rebirth. Will the Korean game, which promises to be the big surprise of the year, prevail commercially over FF7 Rebirth ? At this point, it even seems likely.