Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerWhile Square Enix often provides sales numbers for its hard-hitters, it’s been suspiciously silent about Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and its success. Obviously, we’re sure it’s still selling well, but that didn’t stop the question from popping in some peoples’ heads.
In an investigation by IGN, the outlet asked for expert opinions on if the game is struggling to sell. Speaking with Ampere Analysis research manager, Louise Wooldridge, the game was the seventh largest title of the month, lagging behind Helldivers 2 and the predictable top-dogs. During its launch in February it came in fourth, failing to beat out titles like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and EA Sports FC 24.
In terms of a single-player experience, though, we can’t expect the same player retention a live-service (such as Fortnite) or a game that largely lives to be a multiplayer experience (such as Call of Duty). March saw the highest engagement, meaning those that did buy it, enjoyed it with an average game time of 55 hours.
This situation was spurred on from last month, it was reported that the game was lagging behind previous entries when it comes to physical sales. Earlier this month, Daniel Ahmed tweeted about the game selling about half of what Remake sold in the same timeframe.
“As single-player releases go, I wouldn’t say it was struggling necessarily. It clearly has a very devoted and engaged fanbase, as well as a few limiting factors versus its predecessor Remake including a smaller addressable audience (PS5 exclusive and much earlier in the console lifecycle than Remake was for PS4), and the fact that it is a sequel rather than a new IP or a standalone game (like FF16). So it is difficult to really compare the two – expectations must have been set lower versus Remake given the circumstances I just described.”
What do you think? Are you enjoying Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth? Let us know below!