The Final Fantasy franchise has reached a new milestone, surpassing 180 million units sold globally. This solidifies its position among the best-selling video game IPs of all time.
What happened?
The updated sales data came to light in a press release announcing a collaboration between Square Enix and Japanese musical theatre troupe Takarazuka Revue.
“Since its first release in 1987, the legendary Final Fantasy RPG series has boasted over 180 million shipments and downloads worldwide,” the text reads.
However, Square Enix already shared the same figure in June when it announced the election of new directors. The information appeared in the About section of the press release, but barely anyone seemed to pay attention to this document.
It is worth noting that the last time Square Enix publicly disclosed sales of the Final Fantasy series was last October when the Japanese company reported that the franchise had sold over 173 million units in global package shipments and digital sales (as of March 2022).
This means the series has sold another seven million units since then. On top of that, Final Fantasy XVI has crossed the 3 million mark in the first six days since its launch on June 22, so total sales could now be even higher than the 180 million figure mentioned above.
Sales of Final Fantasy games
The first Final Fantasy game came out in December 1987. Right now, the franchise has 96 titles across various platforms and genres, including 16 main installments, remakes, and remasters. Here are disclosed figures for some of the best-selling games in the series:
- Final Fantasy XIV (2013) — over 24 million registered players (as of October 2021);
- Final Fantasy X + X-2 (2002) — over 20.8 million copies sold, including the HD remaster (as of July 2022);
- Final Fantasy VII (1997) — over 14.1 million units sold (as of January 2023);
- Final Fantasy XV (2016) — over 10 million copies sold (as of May 2022);
- Final Fantasy VIII (1999) — over 9.6 million copies sold (as of August 2019).
Where does Final Fantasy rank among the best-selling video game franchises?
- The Mario franchise remains the top-selling video game IP with over 826 million units sold globally. This includes series such as Super Mario, Mario Kart, and Mario Sports.
- Final Fantasy is currently ranked as the 13th best-selling video game franchise, above other notable series like Sonic the Hedgehod (160+ million copies sold), Need for Speed (150 million), and Resident Evil (142 million).
- Square Enix’s RPG series is also below franchises like Assassin’s Creed (200 million) and The Sims (200 million).
- The top 10 best-selling video game franchises of all time also includes Pokémon (480 million), Call of Duty (425 million), and Grand Theft Auto (400 million).
- Interestingly, total sales of the entire Final Fantasy series is now on par with GTA V, which crossed the 180 million mark in March.