Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fourth top-selling US game this year, but reportedly remains far behind Remake

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has emerged as the fourth top-selling game in the United States for this year, trailing behind notable titles such as Helldivers 2 and Dragon’s Dogma 2. This data comes from sales tracking by Circana, a company specializing in sales analysis.

Notably, Helldivers 2 has taken the lead, enjoying significant success with reports indicating it has sold over 8 million copies within its first month. This impressive performance has also established it as PlayStation’s biggest launch on Steam.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has also performed well, according to Capcom, and has led to a favorable outlook for the company’s anticipated profits. The game managed to sell 2.5 million copies in less than two weeks, further solidifying its success.

While the sales figures for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have not yet been publicly disclosed by Square Enix, speculation about its sales performance has been rampant. Despite its standing in the sales chart, it is surprising to see it ranked behind two relatively lower-budget titles.

Recently, industry analyst Daniel Ahmad suggested that Rebirth has sold only “about half” of the number of copies its predecessor, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, did, categorizing it as “underperforming” in terms of sales.

Further insights from analyst Mat Piscatella reveal that while Rebirth ranks as the fourth best-selling game in the US this year, it stands at 14th in the lifetime sales for all Final Fantasy games in the country. He also noted that sales for Rebirth are down by a double-digit percentage when compared to Remake over the same period and are similarly down compared to Final Fantasy 16, which has been described by Square Enix as having “extremely strong” sales.

A popular theory among fans is that the sales discrepancy may be attributed to Remake’s launch on the PS4, which had a larger install base than Rebirth’s launch on the PS5. Despite this, Rebirth has not outperformed the PS5-exclusive Final Fantasy 16.

The underperformance of Rebirth could also be linked to the challenges of marketing the second installment of an ongoing remake saga. The first game did not resonate with all fans of the original, making it a complex situation for Square Enix.

The full impact of these sales trends will not be clear until Square Enix releases official figures. As the third installment of the trilogy is already in the works, expectations may be tempered following the mixed performance of Rebirth.

Despite its sales challenges, Rebirth has received critical acclaim for its open world design, humor, and various mini-games. Reviewers have described it as “an overstuffed but lovable re-imagining,” although its ending has sparked some controversy among players.

Recently, Square Enix announced it had abandoned £112 million worth of in-development projects in an effort to enhance the quality of its games. Company president Takashi Kiryu is focused on streamlining the company’s output to ensure that forthcoming titles resonate with fans just as much as they have with critics.