Square Enix seems to be flipping between whether it considered Final Fantasy XVI a success or not. The company initially revealed that the game’s sales were ‘extremely strong’ but, according to a report, later backtracked and stated that it failed to meet expectations. Now, the publisher says the action RPG was ‘in line’ with its expectations and has plans to expand the marketing in order to draw in more PS5 players.
Speaking during a recent financial briefing, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu spoke positively about Final Fantasy XVI‘s expectations. “This achievement was in line with our expectations,” said Kiryu. “To expand sales, we have planned a variety of PR activities and other initiatives to encourage more of the growing PlayStation 5 install base to play the title.”
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This comes in light of Square Enix losing nearly $2 billion in market value following the release of Final Fantasy XVI, though its latest action RPG isn’t really to blame in this case. Several poor launches such as the botched Marvel’s Avengers and the less-than-stellar Forspoken contributed to Square Enix’s decline in the market.
That said, Square Enix is planning to shift its focus quite a bit by focusing on ‘upgrading’ existing IPs to AAA status instead of taking risks on new IPs. As for Final Fantasy XVI, the publisher confirmed earlier this month that a PC version was officially in the works alongside two paid DLC expansions.
Final Fantasy XVI launched back in June with great reviews and strong sales, presenting a more mature take on the long-running JRPG franchise. Square Enix has now ramped up the marketing for its next major release, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which will hit PS5 early next year. See what the publisher had to say about Zack Fair and Vincent Valentine’s roles in the game.
Final Fantasy XVI is available for PS5 with a PC version planned to launch soon.
Source: Square Enix
