Within the past two years, Final Fantasy fans have been treated to two major releases in the franchise that were met with critical acclaim. But according to Square Enix, Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have both failed to live up to the company’s sales expectations.
Via IGN, Square Enix disclosed the disappointing results during a financial results briefing in May, but the company only released the information today. No sales figures for the games were provided, nor did the report state how far away the two titles were from Square Enix’s projections.
Square Enix president and representative director Takashi Kiryu suggested that there may have been “cannibalization between our own titles” that led to this result. Final Fantasy 16 was released in June 2023, while Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth followed only eight months later in February 2024. Both titles fell within the same fiscal year for Square Enix, which came to an end in March 2024.
It’s also possible that the two Final Fantasy games were at a disadvantage because they were solely available on PlayStation 5. Final Fantasy 16 was only released on PC earlier this week, while Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth remains a PlayStation exclusive for now.
There isn’t an easy solution for this problem, especially since fans and critics alike seemed to be very receptive to both titles. Without seeing the actual sales numbers, it’s difficult to determine how bad the issue really is. Kiryu indicated that the company will be “curating our pipeline over the next three years,” presumably to prevent any future cannibalization of sales. He also promised to continue to working to improve Square Enix’s profitability.
