FF7 Rebirth's Steam launch was "fantastic" analyst says, US best-selling in the week of its release

That's across tracked digital and physical game sales.

Admin note: We've changed the source to a better represented news one and less opinion piece of the 'journalist'.

[Sonic1881]

Congratulations! Can't wait to replay it on PC

[VenomUK]

I suspect the reason the PlayStation sales were underwhelming was because it was not released on PS4. That’s why Square Enid have said the final chapter will be cross-gen.

[RaiderNation]

That's exactly why. At the time of release, the PS5 userbase wasn't a 3rd of what the PS4 userbase was when Remake was released. Though I'm glad they didn't, Square probably should've released it as a cross gen title.

[S2Killinit]

Its not like they did badly. They just had unreasonable expectations. They even reported in their quarterly that the decision to go exclusive in consoles was the correct decision,(financially speaking), but they also had huge expectations that fell short.

This is clickbait website so the wording can be misleading.

[Obscure_Observer]

@VenomUK

"That’s why Square Enid have said the final chapter will be cross-gen."

Do you have a source?

Why would they release the final chapter on PS4 when Rebirth is not available for PS4???

Also, last time I heard SE were considering the transition for UE5 for their last chapter which would make a PS4 port even more pointless.

Anyway, lets hear from your source.

@S2Killinit

"They even reported in their quarterly that the decision to go exclusive in consoles was the correct decision,(financially speaking), but they also had huge expectations that fell short."

Bring your source because the last thing they did was blame themselves because "huge expectations". And the very fact that they´d decided and ditched future exclusivity with Playstation is the very reason why console exclusivity didn´t pay off for them.

Babylon´s Fall
Foamstars
Forspoken
Final Fantasy XVI
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

All of those games were exclusive to the PS5 and all fell short of their expectations.

[Cacabunga]

I just made it to Costa del Sol but I have mixed feelings about this game.. it is infested with mini games that really break the game’s intensity.
The first one was a far better game so far. The exploration is totally irrelevant and pointless I have no idea why they made a world map for this game. Imo the original used the world map much better with chocobo tracks, mating, chocobo colors made sense and the green ones could climb mountains not the pointless ramps only

[VenomUK]

@Obscure_Observer "Why would they release the final chapter on PS4 when Rebirth is not available for PS4???"

There's been a misunderstanding. It will be cross-gen but PS5 and PS6 cross gen.

'Producer Yoshinori Kitase was asked by the outlet about concerns current-gen players might need to upgrade:
"For those who have played FF7 Remake on PS4 and FF7 Rebirth on PS5, I think there may be some concern that the third work will be for the next generation console," Kitase responded with a laugh, seemingly putting the business to bed: "No, you can rest assured about the next one."

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

[JEECE]

It's astonishing to me that people are still floating the narrative that PS4 versions of games would have sold significant numbers of copies in 2024. The PS5 versions of games were outselling PS4 versions even in 2021, and by 2023 the PS4 versions were bombing. In European launch month sales for Street Fighter 6, PS4 represented about 9% of sales. It was worse for Diablo IV, only representing about 4%.
https://www.gamesindustry.b...

I have no idea why people would think the PS4 version sales of cross gen games would increase as PS5 console sales increase. A PS4 version of Rebirth would have bombed.

[VenomUK]

@JEECE In the UK most Multiplatform games would sell more copies on PS4 than on Xbox Series X/S combined.

[Elda]

I highly doubt the last entry will be on last gen consoles, just as Rebirth isn't on last gen consoles. The dlc Episode Intermission for Remake wasn't on last gen consoles. The cross-gen for the last entry will be for PS5 & PS6.

[JEECE]

@VenomUK

Uhh I'm literally only talking about how sales of the PS4 versions of cross platform games sold compared to the PS5 versions (and to an extent, PC). Xbox isn't really relevant to that conversation in any way.

[Goodguy01]

They should really do a pc version day one as well.

[porkChop]

It seems pretty clear that's where they're headed. They've mentioned that they need to start launching on more platforms on day 1 because exclusivity just isn't enough when these games cost this much to make. I just hope that means better PC versions (in terms of graphics/performance settings) if they're being worked on from the start.

[andy85]

Couple of days after release it was reported the cracked version had over 200k downloads. Guessing that's why they're reluctant

[RedDevils]

Yeah it a day one crack.

[Christopher]

Not sure being #1 for a week before all the big releases is that telling of how good of PC launch it is. It's currently sitting at #17 in global sales. Below No Man's Sky and two other Sony games.

[Jingsing]

It is click bait from yet another biased website.

[Giga_Gaia]

Sony probably has a deal to release it only on their console for a year. I seriously doubt this is going to be different for the third game. A PC day one release is unlikely.

[Tacoboto]

Can we get a comment from Square Enix on this before we go through a full round of this getting shared everywhere?

It seems like so many "journalists" are leeching onto the words of the Circana/NPD guy sharing his opinion on what the numbers mean, when so far Square hasn't said a peep.

[Bathyj]

Square aren't exactly the best source either.
They are never satisfied. Every game they release doesnt meet "expectations" according to them.

[Tacoboto]

oh I know that - especially in that context, what gives anyone but Square the authority to say their launch was "spectacular"?

[ravens52]

How many copies did it sell on PS5 vs PC? Give me numbers.

[Jingsing]

It will probably be at least 10 to 1 in favor of PlayStation but when you are running a PC biased website who cares about those things. It is about spreading disinformation to game companies in the hope they follow through.

[Asterphoenix]

Well it's good it's done well on Steam despite that I'm interested in the numbers or if Square saying it doesn't meet expectations. PS5 it still done good just not as much as their expectations.

[Tacoboto]

A solid release, but when Square does it:
"When [hot item] is a 10... but has to meet Square Enix's expectations"

[CrashMania]

Yeah SE who were disappointed with tomb raider 2013 selling like 7 million copies. I'm glad it's apparently do well on steam, but hard to say without numbers, Rebirth is excellent so deserves to sell many millions.

[NoLifeLoser]

Bro why the heck is the game $69.99 on PSN, but $48.99 on Steam???

[jznrpg]

Because Square sets the price. There are sales here and there plus physical copy at Walmart is 39.99$. Physical price is dropping so it will get a drop or sale on PSN again at some point soon. Physical generally gets the lower prices sooner

[RedDevils]

That why I always wait like 2-3 months before getting the game, I save $50 on this one lol

[MatrixxGT]

Games always cheaper on PC. One of the reasons I switched. Along with free online, no more dumb subs and still get free games from various stores.
I do miss the convenience of consoles though. It just works.

[andy85]

That'll be me full time once physical is no more. Thankfully it's still miles cheaper for physical versions even vs PC

[MatrixxGT]

I’m a physical advocate but unfortunately I think those days are coming to an end. I always bought steelbook editions for my collection but now companies want you to buy a $120 edition to get a steelbook with a download code. Pretty much my final straw.

[JL2930]

Because it's on sale?

[ziggyzinfirion]

When Rebirth came on PS5 last year, it had that same discount in several regions along with the Remake. This is very common on all game platforms to entice consumers if they are not seeing their preorder expectations.

[Destiny1080]

anything with the word fantasy sells well on pc

[anast]

No reliable numbers. If there are, post them with the source.

[repsahj]

"Spectacular launch" means 3 million on its first day?

[Christopher]

No. Square would have announced this in the fastest presser they've released in a decade if this was true.

[DivineHand125]

Let that be the end of 3rd party console exclusives.

[badz149]

with no numbers, this is just delusion

[RGB]

Literally fantasy land article.

PS5 copies in Japan alone during week 1 match Steam globally after 2 weeks, the entire premise / narrative of the argument is based upon a lie.

[Jingsing]

Exactly

[LoveSpuds]

Won't matter to Obscure and his ilk, not like facts have ever mattered to them when they are trying to stick the boot in to Sony....just see above 🙄

[fsfsxii]

23k concurrent players, 40k peak, yeah…

[Jingsing]

The steam numbers don't show that, But I guess windowscentral has their biases. Dilute PlayStation etc

[rob-GP]

"Despite previously suggesting Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth missed its sales goals on PlayStation 5, the game has enjoyed a very strong launch on Steam PC so far."

I'm sorry, the PS5 version sold over 2m copies, the PC version has apparently sold less than 500k (not including the hundreds of thousands illegally downloaded cracked versions). So, how does the article statement make sense?

Also, FF7R wasn't a 'flop', it was profitable - it just couldn't counter the losses SE made on their PC, Switch and Mobile ONLY games that year

[8bitAssassin]

The people who only want, want, and want are going to be the death of gaming. Over here doing Xbox numbers.

[gold_drake]

who told them it didnt meet expectations?

[babadivad]

Great

[Kyizen]

It sold very well on PS5 just didn't mean expectations which were high. Issue I see is PS4 users who played remake couldn't play rebirth not owning a PS5. The name Rebirth doesn't indicate it is part 2 to Remake but more of a deluxe version so people might of skipped it. I think they will do a day 1 PS5/6 and PC release for the 3rd part.

[shaenoide]

Square Enix and expectactions are always a rocky road. They sold the tomb raider franchise despite the fact the last trilogy sold nearly 40 millions units...

That and the first episode being a disapointment for a lot of people including myself ( I bought the first class edition). I didn't buy the second.

[Knushwood Butt]

A spectacular number of illegal downloads.

[Hedstrom]

Wasnt it a shitloads of pirated copies on PC?

[CrimsonWing69]

I was seeing conflicting things, granted mostly YouTube vids pointing out the estimated sales on Steam being 300k sold, which PS5 sales were rumored to be 2.5 mill, which was less than FF16 at launch and that failed to meet sales.

Like, this is one of my favorite series and Rebirth is one of my Goat’s, but I can’t tell if those numbers on Steam are considered good or not because it’s way less than console.

[CrashMania]

Jez desperate to take a swing at PS5 after the forza and age of empires news lol.

[Scissorman]

Is it just me, or does this data makes an even stronger case for timed console exclusivity?

Not only does the third-party publisher benefit from having a portion of development costs covered by the exclusivity deal, it also allows the team to focus on optimizing for a single platform first. This can lead to better performance and shorter development cycles.

We can see that even a year after its PS5 release, FF7Rebirth is performing well on PC. This proves that Square Enix didn’t need to launch the game on both platforms simultaneously to achieve long-term success.