Despite mountains of positive reviews and a hugely dedicated fanbase, Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI did not meet the company’s sales expectations. The news stems from a newly published results briefing, which was initially held in May.
“Despite the release of Foamstars and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in Q4, initial sales were not as strong as expected,” the report reads.
In order to combat underwhelming sales going forward, Square Enix is committing to a multiplatform strategy, something it has already announced publically and also something found in the new report.
“In the case of HD games, we will create a global environment that allows more customers to enjoy our major franchises and AAA titles, including from our back catalog,” it reads.
The aforementioned Final Fantasy titles were initially released as PlayStation 5 exclusives, with Final Fantasy XVI released on PC yesterday, September 17. It’s unclear when Rebirth will be released beyond the PS5.
During an August event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Hamaguchi made the bold claim that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 will go down in history as one of the greatest video games ever made.
“The development team is hard at work as we speak, and we’re going to make the game something that even beats any expectations that you have towards the game,” the director said. “I’m absolutely confident that the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series will be one of the most loved, most popular games in the whole history of video games, once again.”
The second part of the Remake trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was released on February 29 for the PlayStation 5. While it’s unclear when the final game will hit shelves, Kitase claims that the team is eyeing a 2027 release. Series composer Nobuo Uematsu will return to compose a new main theme for the title.
