According to an analyst, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is massively underperforming, selling significantly worse than Remake within the same timeframe.
Square Enix is notorious for its high sales expectations. Sometimes, it feels that if one of its games doesn’t sell a billion copies, it isn’t worthwhile. Of course, Square is a tad more reasonable than that, but it would seem its radio silence surrounding Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s sales is an indication it’s not happy. Well, according to analyst Daniel Ahmad, it turns out Square Enix has plenty to be worried about.
Analyst Claims Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is Underperforming
According to Daniel Ahmad, the director of research and insights at Niko Partners, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is underperforming quite drastically. This is when compared to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ahmad explained that Rebirth is “selling half of what Remake sold in the same timeframe.” He went on to explain that it would also “have a weaker tail.” So, it’s likely that the sales won’t catch up any time soon.
Of course, Square Enix is yet to release the actual sales figures for Rebirth, a genuine surprise considering that it took them just three days to share information on Remake’s success and six days for Final Fantasy XVI. However, Ahmad is a reputable source and explained in a follow-up post that he received his information from “Equities research reports, who are getting the data from the usual trackers.” So, it’s likely to be extremely accurate information.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Sells Less Than Remake
Of course, entertainment analysis firm Ampere had also done its own research and found that Rebirth sold over 2 million copies a month after its release. This puts it well behind Remake’s sales, which hit 3.5 million after just three days. There are important differences between Rebirth and Remake that could account for the lower sales. For example, Remake is the first game in the series and therefore will attract a larger player base. It also, debatably, had more hype surrounding it as players were not sure what to expect. Most importantly, Remake was released during COVID-19 on the PlayStation 4 at the tail-end of its lifespan. Therefore, it had an extremely large audience with little to do.
It’s extremely unlikely that these lower sales figures will prevent Square Enix from releasing the next and final entry in the trilogy. After all, it’s currently in development and has a scheduled release date. However, especially considering Square Enix’s track record for having sky-high expectations for the sales of their releases, it doesn’t bode well for any potential spin-offs or even other remake series. What do you make of Rebirth’s lower sales? Are people getting fatigued by Final Fantasy? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out our Guide Hub for more articles just like this one.