Despite FF7’s Spotlight, FF16 Successfully Reaches our Goal

See Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on Amazon

See Final Fantasy XVI on Fnac

Final Fantasy 7 caused a sensation…

At the start of 2024, fans of the Final Fantasy VII universe had plenty to satisfy themselves. Indeed, on February 29, Square Enix finally released Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second opus of the trilogy of remakes of the most famous episode of the license. It was then a question of finding Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and their friends just after their escape from Midgar, in their quest to find the terrible Sephiroth. Remarkable for its open world, its narration and its combat system, the latest game from Square Enix has won over many players.

A few weeks ago, we learned that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was the best-selling game of February in the United States, even though it was released on the very last day of this month. In addition, the double pack including Remake and Rebirth was the eighth best-selling game of the month of February, still in the United States. A remarkable feat which proves once again that Final Fantasy VII has a special place in the hearts of players, even more than 25 years after its initial release. But while the world had its eyes on this second part of the remake, the last major episode of the saga had also achieved a particularly important objective.

…but Final Fantasy 16 accomplished a remarkable goal

Even if it had a mixed reception from the players, we must not forget that Final Fantasy XVI was released just a few months ago, on June 22, 2023. Very different from the other episodes of the saga, this 16th episode focused enormously on the action, marking a possible turning point for the next opuses. If this aspect may have put off many former players, it still had a very beneficial effect for the saga. In any case, this is what we remember Takeo Kujiraokathe director of Final Fantasy XVI DLC:

In recent years, Final Fantasy players have tended to be older. However, this time around, early studies show that more teenagers and young adults played Final Fantasy XVI. I think this shows that, in a way, we achieved our original goal: to have players of all ages playing the latest Final Fantasy.

Rejuvenating your player base is not an easy thing to achieve, especially when we're talking about sagas that have existed for several decades. In this sense, Final Fantasy XVI has therefore achieved a particularly remarkable objective. Those most attached to the old games of the license can be reassured, however, that this success does not necessarily mean that all the next Final Fantasy games will resemble the 16th episode:

That's not to say that all future Final Fantasy games will go in the same direction as Final Fantasy XVI, but I think it means we've been able to bring new players on board and that opens up new possibilities for game teams. development who will work on the next installations in the series.

It's difficult to know today to what extent Final Fantasy XVII will be inspired by its predecessor, but it is certain that Square Enix now faces a bit of a dilemma: should they focus on new players, old players, or try to please both? One thing is certain, we are not likely to know their answer for a while.