Holy Shiva that’s a lot of copies!
Square Enix revealed that Final Fantasy XVI has already sold 3 million copies across both physical and digital formats. Even though that’s a bit behind the start that Final Fantasy XV had, it’s important to highlight some key differences between the two launches.
We’re delighted to announce we’ve shipped and digitally sold 3 million copies of Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5. Thank you for your support! #FF16 pic.twitter.com/8YGfo1RXyV
— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) June 28, 2023
For starters, the newly released action-RPG is currently PlayStation 5 exclusive. According to the trailers leading up to release, this exclusivity will last for at least six months. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy XV initially launched on both PlayStation and Xbox consoles, expanding its potential audience. It’s easy to imagine that Final Fantasy XVI would see even more sales were it available on other platforms.
Furthermore, the marketing behind the two games were vastly different. Before launch, Final Fantasy XV had an actual in-theater prequel movie starring Sean Bean, Lena Headey and Aaron Paul. In comparison, a few weeks before the launch of Final Fantasy XVI, Producer Naoki Yoshida discussed the different marketing approach of the new action-RPG. The latest entry in the series is slated to use a sales plan lasting 18 months. As such, the company didn’t prioritize the short term sales of the game.
A promising outlook for the future
Despite some issues, Final Fantasy XV was very popular when it launched on PC. Its PC launch featured integrated Steam Workshop mod support, which I hope will be in the PC version of Final Fantasy XVI if and when it appears.
As more and more people finish the game, word of mouth is spreading extra hype for Final Fantasy XVI. With a fun new action-RPG combat system and exciting intense battles between giant Eikons, the game is a great entry point for new fans of the series.
While no DLC has been announced yet, past Final Fantasy games are no stranger to post-launch updates. We’ll have to see if Final Fantasy XVI follows a similar path.
Final Fantasy XVI is currently available on PlayStation 5.
