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• Final Fantasy 16 didn’t launch to massive numbers on Steam.
• A new report reveals that the game has sold only 289K copies on Steam since its launch.
• Square Enix is now shifting its focus to releasing games on different platforms to attract more sales.

Square Enix launched Final Fantasy 16 exclusively on the PlayStation 5 in mid-2023. The sales were pretty good, given it was launched on a single console, but Square Enix always has high expectations for its franchises.

So, the gaming giant finally released the game on PC in September to attract more players. However, the game seems to have severely underperformed on the platform, as it has sold only 289K units since its launch.

Why it matters: Square Enix launched Final Fantasy 16 on PC after over a year, killing the game’s hype and ultimately hurting sales.

Final Fantasy 16 Extremely Underperformed On PC; Sold Only 289K Units Since Launch

Final Fantasy 16 launch on PC was pretty underwhelming as the game has sold only 289000 copies since it was launched.

tech4gamers.com

Despite a strong start on PS5, where 3 million copies were sold in its first week, Final Fantasy 16 has struggled on PC, reaching only 289K sales since its September debut.

 

[TVexperto]

I just dont have time to play the previous 15 installments

 

[HogIsland]

full priced games released years later sell catalog numbers, not launch numbers. those aren't bad catalog numbers.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Next time release it day one.

 

[cireza]

Good. Now make a proper FF XVII.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I hate to break it to SE, Xbox, and Sony, but releasing games everywhere does not equate to exponentially higher sales. if you game is MID, it's going to be MID everywhere

 

[VideoGameEnjoyer]

Bought at full price on PS5, didn’t even make it 10 hours. Just not for me


Rebirth, on the other hand, I loved. Too bad that one didn’t sell well either.

 

[Gaiff]

Next time release it day one.

And make it good lol.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Probably should of used that money to give XIV a bigger budget instead of making fake RPGs. Would have saved more money that way.

 

[ArtHands]

Source there is a random twitter user

 

[Pedro Motta]

Next time release it day one.

LOL, the problem is the gamne isn't very good, not the day one or PS5 exclusiveness,

 

[Bloody Crow of Cainhurst]

Lmao, yeah, surely the PeeCee Master Race will save Square Enix from evil Sony's exclusivity cheques. The multiplatform future looks bright for Square Enix!

 

[Little Chicken]

Everyone knew by the PC launch that it wasn't that good.

 

[Tarnpanzer]

I am waiting for Epic Store Winter Sale.

 

[Hrk69]

Lmao, yeah, surely the PeeCee Master Race will save Square Enix from evil Sony's exclusivity cheques. The multiplatform future looks bright for Square Enix!

 

[Madflavor]

For a game that got mixed wom and was a year late on PC, those numbers aren't surprising.

 

[Gaiff]

I find it hilarious how devs think they can dump their trash on PC and expect it to sell.

 

[Griffon]

When the hype is gone and all is left is middling to bad reviews... yeah of course it's not gonna sell like crazy.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Everyone knew by the PC launch that it wasn't that good.

And that's what it ultimately comes down to. They also have been waiting for over a year so why wouldn't they just wait a little longer and buy it on sale.

 

[Black_Stride]

They released it a year later and are shocked that game didnt have the same hype as at its initial launch?

Square-Enix never ceases to amaze me.

Day One or bust motherfuckers .

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I’m sure they’ll sell millions on Xbox to make up the difference. They buy games over there.

 

[Fortress of Regrets]

Squeenix is learning to do day one multiplatform releases now. It is quite important for sales. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is already doing significantly better because of this.

SEGA/ATLUS have learned that day one matters. Capcom have learned it as well. Everyone who wants to make money will learn it.

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Serves them right for no PS5 Pro patch.

 

[rofif]

of course it did.
PC players don't like good single player games unless it's souls game.
And the hype was over by that time.

I personally think this is the best game this gen (or maybe right after Returnal and Stellar Blade).
It looks so incredible, it's so engaging and the music is so goooood.
Returnal also sold shit on pc and I would've thought Returnal was a SURE PC HIT.

anyway - amazing game. Imo better than rebirth (but rebirth is good too, just too bloated)

 

[MagiusNecros]

LOL, the problem is the gamne isn't very good, not the day one or PS5 exclusiveness,

It's both really. But since they released on PS5 and we got to time travel to see how good it was and saw that it wasn't most opted to not buy it. On top of that if the story is the main draw we could just watch the story online and enjoy FF: The Spirits Within 2 for free.

 

[SlimySnake]

Next time release it day one.

Like Concord, Horizon Lego, Horizon ZD remaster, and Until Dawn?

I think it's time to admit that the audience on PC and audience on consoles simply dont have the same taste. Plenty of third party games launch on PC day one and we know they max out at 10-15%.

 

[mdkirby]

Yeah agree with the consensus above, it was very average. Nicely fleshed out dialogue for quests etc, but except for a handful of main quests all the incredibly verbose dialogue was absolutely droll, literally ai would have done a better job, particularly for the side quests. There was a few semi interesting villains, but the only decent/interesting ally, they kill off near the start. Whole thing was just pretty meh.

 

[Bloody Crow of Cainhurst]

I find it hilarious how devs think they can dump their trash on PC and expect it to sell.

The same people in here calling it trash were the same people saying shit like "games don't sell on PS5, blah blah blah" like it's time for Steam users to put up or shut up

 

[Hrk69]

At least it introduced me to some amazing fucking music

 

[T4keD0wN]

LOL, the problem is the gamne isn't very good, not the day one or PS5 exclusiveness,

Nah the problem is that theyve missed the boat on the initial marketing hype and most who were interested have already moved on or played it elsewhere. Nobody cares or knows about a year old port.

 

[rofif]

LOL, the problem is the gamne isn't very good, not the day one or PS5 exclusiveness,

Since when "game being good" got anyhthing to do with it's sales? Are you kidding me? Look at top steamdb games.
Biggest gaas stinkers made by 1 person in their bathroom get most sales on pc.
FF 16 is incredibly high quality. It is Incredibly good game. It goes on for a bit too long in the middle part but no game is perfect.
It is a great single player game. nothing more. Maybe people expected another elden ring

 

[Gaiff]

of course it did.
PC players don't like good single player games unless it's souls game

Or Cyberpunk, or Dragon’s Dogma, or Wukong, or BG3. PC players don’t jump all over a mediocre game that runs poorly and was released a year late.

 

[proandrad]

Source, "trust me bro."

 

[PauloRoberto]

Nah the problem is that theyve missed the boat on the initial marketing hype and most who were interested have already moved on or played it elsewhere.

Ghost of Tsushima absolutelly begs to differ.

 

[Gaiff]

The same people in here calling it trash were the same people saying shit like "games don't sell on PS5, blah blah blah" like it's time for Steam users to put up or shut up

Put up buying shit games? Nah.

 

[Kacho]

Source there is a random twitter user

True. But we don't need a random Twitter user to confirm that FF16 is trash and the Final Fantasy IP is largely irrelevant these days. Ain't nobody want a late port of a faux RPG pretending to be a mainline FF.

 

[TGO]

In fact with the exception of Black Myth: Wukong because of China
This is probably just a template for PC releases where they just exchange the game title and post the article.

 

[Fess]

Next time release it day one.

Yeah. Would’ve bought it day 1 from hype alone.

 

[rofif]

Or Cyberpunk, or Dragon’s Dogma, or Wukong, or BG3. PC players don’t jump all over a mediocre game that runs poorly and was released a year late.

So speak for yourself. (though Dragons Dogma 2 is so fucking good (combat))
But ff16 as a whole package is great. If FF16 is a "MID" game, we have fucking problem here.
I've not played a game this high quality, this ambitious and grand in a long time. Stellar blade is better as a whole package but still not nearly as grand as ff16

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Ghost of Tsushima absolutelly begs to differ.

At ~800K copies on Steam, it sold okay-ish.

 

[Mercador]

I bought it on PC and I was quite disappointed, it's not a JRPG anymore. Hopefully, I purchased Metaphor the following week.

 

[Elios83]

Predictable, late port of a game that simply was a mixed bag isn't going to do big numbers.
Just like FF14 on Xbox was a fart.
Square Enix is delusional if they think that multiplatform alone can replace quality, hard work on building the IP over the years, reaching out to new generations of players, understand what they want to be.

 

[Gaiff]

At ~800K copies on Steam, it sold okay-ish.

Did Sony announce the sales numbers?

 

[MagiusNecros]

I bought it on PC and I was quite disappointed, it's not a JRPG anymore. Hopefully, I purchased Metaphor the following week.

Oh man Metaphor just utterly destroys FF16 when it comes to being a JRPG.

 

[Fbh]

People didn't rush to buy a mid as fuck game at $50 over a year after release?

 

[ShirAhava]

Its a bad game and 90% of the people who really wanted it already had it

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Did Sony announce the sales numbers?

There's this:

According to analysts’ estimates, sales of the Steam version of Ghost of Tsushima have exceeded 800,000 copies.

Ghost of Tsushima is Sony’s latest game on PC. It was released on Steam and Epic Games Store on May 16, 2024, almost four years after its console release on PlayStation. The VG Insights service studied the game’s performance on Steam.

app2top.com

 

[proandrad]

Did Sony announce the sales numbers?

No and neither did Square about this game on PC. Websites are just making articles about sale numbers without a source.

 

[Black_Stride]

Like Concord, Horizon Lego, Horizon ZD remaster, and Until Dawn?

I think it's time to admit that the audience on PC and audience on consoles simply dont have the same taste. Plenty of third party games launch on PC day one and we know they max out at 10-15%.

Nah like Helldiver.

 

[T4keD0wN]

Ghost of Tsushima absolutelly begs to differ.

Not really, it did very well for a cheap port, so while the ROI was multiple times higher than that of the PS version (because that version bears all of the dev costs), in total the PC version has sold way less and made way less money than what it did on PS4/5. Had GoT been day 1 the total sales could come close to or mirror those on console, probably less since it was crossgen, FF16 wasnt crossgen and could have easily sold way more on PC than on console.