Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth: A Sales Disappointment Despite Critical Acclaim
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, hailed as one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2024, has surprisingly fallen short in sales for its developer, Square Enix. As the middle installment in a trilogy reimagining the iconic Final Fantasy 7, Rebirth picks up where its predecessor, Remake, concluded, offering players an enriched exploration of the original’s middle chapters. Despite Remake’s availability on the PS4, Rebirth remains a PS5 exclusive, with no current plans for release on other platforms.
Square Enix’s Expectations vs. Reality
According to Eurogamer, Square Enix’s president, Takashi Kiryu, highlighted in a recently publicized meeting that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, along with other newly released titles, failed to meet the company’s financial expectations. Kiryu remarked that both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 “did not meet our expectations” in terms of profits. Additionally, the sales of Square’s live-service game, Foamstars, were also below target.
Rebirth’s Underperformance: A Potential Low Point for the Franchise
The Decline in Sales for Recent Final Fantasy Titles
Square Enix has been known for setting ambitious sales targets, even labeling high-selling games like Hitman: Absolution and Tomb Raider (2013) as financial failures. However, since the release of Final Fantasy 15 in 2016, the mainline Final Fantasy games have experienced a notable decline in sales. Rebirth, despite positive reviews, reportedly sold significantly less than Remake. Coupled with the increasing costs and development time for AAA games, the financial success of Final Fantasy games, excluding the consistently strong FFXIV, appears to be at a historic low.
Final Fantasy 15 has reportedly surpassed 10 million units sold, a milestone that no subsequent mainline Final Fantasy game has achieved.
The Impact of PS5 Exclusivity
A contributing factor to Rebirth’s sales woes could be its PS5 exclusivity. Remake debuted on the PS4 in 2020 and later received a next-gen upgrade, Intergrade, in 2021, benefiting from the PS4’s extensive user base and years of anticipation. In contrast, Rebirth may be hindered by the PS5’s smaller user base and its status as a sequel to a game from the previous PlayStation generation.
Although no official announcements have been made, it’s anticipated that Rebirth, similar to Remake and FF16, will eventually be ported to PC, potentially boosting its sales. Nevertheless, the game’s current underperformance casts a shadow over the future of the Final Fantasy series, particularly for the unnamed sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which is set to conclude the FF7 Remake trilogy.
Source: Eurogamer
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and will see Cloud and his friends set off beyond the walls of Midgar to explore the world, stop Sephiroth's machinations, and see the world outside their slum prison. Now that the whispers of fate no longer guide the characters along the pre-destined path set in the original PlayStation classic Final Fantasy 7, the heroes (and villains) will shape the future. The game will still visit prominent locales and revisit crucial story points, but it will be a more significant departure from the first game from the source material.