Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Underperforming in Sales According to Industry Analyst

Despite releasing to universal acclaim from both fans and critics, it appears that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth may have failed to perform well sales-wise, according to a notable industry analyst. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth potentially underperforming may bring into question the popularity of the franchise as a whole.

The Japanese publisher has had a bit of a rough time in recent years when it comes to the sales success of its latest releases. Back in February 2023, Square Enix noted to investors that revenue from the sales of the console games it released in 2022 was down across the board. This was likely the result of a chain of commercial disappointments for the company throughout 2022 and beyond. Titles like Marvel's Guardian's of the Galaxy, Forspoken, and NEO: The World Ends With You all ended up being financial failures, with the recent game Foamstars losing 94% of its players in two months. Even Final Fantasy 16, which Square initially claimed it was pleased with the sales of, also failed to meet the «high-end» expectations of the company, according to CEO Takashi Kiryu. And now, it appears as if Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth may be the latest to be added pnto this pile of commercial underperformers.

According to a tweet from industry analyst Daniel Ahmad — the director of research and insights at gaming market research firm Niko Partners — "Rebirth is underperforming sales-wise." Ahmad elaborated on this statement of his, claiming that the game is «selling about half of what Remake sold in the same timeframe and looks like it'll have a weaker tail (prior to any PS+-like release).»

There is a lot to unpack regarding this information. For one, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lagging behind Remake in sales shouldn't be surprising, given that Rebirth released exclusively on PS5, which currently has less than half the install base that the PS4 had when Remake released on it. Furthermore, FF7 Remake released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, so higher-than-usual