Final Fantasy XVI: Presale numbers behind those of the predecessor

For many developers, the pre-sale numbers of their games are a direct indicator of how successful their new releases will be. In the case of Square Enix and Final Fantasy XVI, there should be some discomfort. According to reports, the figures for the new series offspring are significantly worse than those of the direct predecessor.

With Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix dares to do something new and shows some courage. Because with the action role-playing game, the studio finally cuts off the turn-based braids of the franchise and instead relies on a fast real-time combat system that shows some borrowings from character action titles like Devil May Cry. While we liked that in our Final Fantasy XVI preview, old fans will surely have their issues with the realignment.

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The skepticism of the players seems to be reflected in the pre-sale numbers. At least if you believe the journalist Imran Khan. He posted on his Patreon account that Square Enix is ​​a bit worried about Final Fantasy XVI pre-orders so far.

According to Khan, these fall significantly behind those of the direct predecessor Final Fantasy XV. Even if you consider that the 15th part appeared on several platforms and calculate them accordingly, the current offshoot is visibly worse off. A possible reason for this could of course be that the title appears exclusively for the PlayStation 5, whose market share is still comparatively small.

While that’s obviously a bit sobering for Square Enix, Khan says the studio isn’t worrying too much. Because with Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth there is another hot potato in development. Square Enix still owes us a release date for the second part of the Final Fantasy VII remake, but according to Khan the studio is putting significantly more focus and resources into marketing the title than originally planned.