Square Enix claims Final Fantasy XVI sales are “strong” after reports of major declines

Square Enix has responded to reports that Final Fantasy XVI's sales have dropped significantly from its first-week performance by claiming that the game is still doing well.

The details:

• According to Takashi Mochizuki of Bloomberg, FF16's second-week sales dropped dramatically compared to the first week of release, and those initial sales "lagged" behind previous series entries. To put this in context, FF16 was released on June 22 and sold three million copies worldwide in its first week, compared to five million for FF15 and 3.5 million for the FF7 Remake on the PlayStation 4.
• Square Enix responded to claims of underperformance in a statement to IGN, pointing to the current install base of the PS5, which FF16 is currently exclusive to, and the PS4 when FF7 Remake was first released back in 2020. “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,” the publisher said. “Taking into consideration the sales figures of the acclaimed Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the difference in 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.”
• Aside from Square's history of overestimating its own sales performance, Louise Wooldridge, research manager at Ampere Analysis, pointed out that FF16 debuted in different circumstances than previous entries and that the game's data thus far is still positive. It was the PS5's sixth most popular title in June, peaking at second in the three days following release and finishing the month in fourth place, beating out other hits such as Diablo IV and Grand Theft Auto V. Furthermore, its darker theme may have hampered its success in Japan when compared to Nintendo's offerings, with the Switch posting its best-ever June sales numbers at the time.

More gaming news:

• Activision Blizzard has laid off approximately 50 employees from its esports division, leaving fans to wonder what will become of its competitive Overwatch and Call of Duty leagues in the future. Before the layoffs, the company was working on new tools to run tournaments, and it has been suggested that esports will be handled by an external contractor in the future.
• Ubisoft has revealed some new details regarding the main character and planets of Star Wars Outlaws. The game’s multiple planets will consist of two to three zones, which is the equivalent of two zones in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.