Game News While waiting for Final Fantasy 16, FF 15 records a record number of sales
Published on 05/18/2022 at 11:30
While all eyes are on potential Final Fantasy XVI news, its predecessor isn’t fading away and continues to quietly sell out. It even sells so well that it has just passed the symbolic milestone of 10 million sales. A good score which still struggles to compete with another license from Square Enix (which the company has just parted with recently).
Summary
- 10 million sales for Final Fantasy 15
- Worse than Final Fantasy 7 and Tomb Raider
10 million sales for Final Fantasy 15
It was with some pride that Square Enix broke the news to us yesterday: the latest opus of its successful license, Final Fantasy XV exceeded 10 million copies sold. A symbolic and even record milestone for the license which has almost never achieved this feat. It’s simple, only one game has managed to do the same: Final Fantasy VII.
Note that when it was released the title had sold 5 million copies in just two months. It must be said that the game aroused impressive expectations, as we rarely see in the video game industry. After a Final Fantasy XIV a little apart, the announcement of a game designed on the ruins of Final Fantasy Versus XIII and much more ambitious than its predecessors had been able to enthuse the crowds. When it was released in November 2016, and given the good ratings, players jumped on the title, allowing it to record a record launch for the franchise.
Sales then stabilized. Five years following the game’s release (last November), they were stuck just below the 10 million mark. A symbolic course, certainly, but all the more important since Square Enix had declared some time following the release of the game that it might only be considered a success if it reached it. It’s now done. However, this impressive number does not allow it to establish itself as the best-selling game of the license, and even less of all Square Enix.
Worse than Final Fantasy 7 and Tomb Raider
The best-selling Final Fantasy is still the legendary Final Fantasy VII. With more than 12 million copies sold worldwide, it keeps a good lead. Eurogamer also ironically pointed out that Final Fantasy XV is behind two licensed games that Square Enix got rid of: Tomb Raider (2013) et Rise of the Tomb Raider. The first records 14.5 million copies sold and the second, released just a year before FF XV, 11.8 million. When we know that Embracer Group now owns the Tomb Raider franchise, it’s still quite funny.
But as the second best-selling game of the Final Fantasy license, FF XVI does not have to be ashamed of the comparison. This beautiful place proves that the interest for the game is certain. Its commercial and critical success bodes well for Final Fantasy XVI, which fans are eagerly awaiting news. It remains to be seen whether the latter will do better than its predecessor and succeed in stealing, at least, the number one spot from the powerful Final Fantasy VII.