Final Fantasy 16 sold well, but not enough to patch Square Enix's profits

Final Fantasy 16 reportedly sold well, but not enough to patch a hole in Square Enix's overall revenue.

Earlier this week, Square Enix reported its financial results for the period between April and September 2023, via GameBiz. The report from the company claims that while Final Fantasy 16 seemingly sold well, it couldn't help Square Enix's profits from declining, primarily due to development costs and advertising.

Square Enix's overall sales from "digital entertainment" actually increased when compared to the same period in 2022. This was because of two things: Final Fantasy 16, and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series, both of which have seemingly sold pretty well.

However, sales for MMOs like Final Fantasy 14 decreased in the same period. This means that, overall, Square Enix's profits declined when compared to the same months in 2022, because Final Fantasy 16 and the Pixel Remaster series couldn't account for development costs and advertising expenditure throughout the entire company.

Note that this doesn't mean Final Fantasy 16 hasn't recuperated its development costs. There's been no shortage of speculation surrounding Final Fantasy 16's sales since it launched earlier this year, but there's no evidence to hint at exactly how much money the game has made (or lost).

Earlier this year in June, early figures indicated Final Fantasy 16 had sold well. It became the fastest-selling PS5 game in Japan, overtaking Gran Turismo 7, and also became the fastest-selling true PS5 exclusive ever, beating out both Returnal and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

On the horizon though, Square Enix has a few big releases in store. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launches early next year, while the big Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail expansion arrives later in the year, currently scheduled for Summer 2024. 

Check out our new games 2023 guide for a look ahead at all the major launches left this year.