A stellar debut has been seen for Final Fantasy 16 as it achieved the fifth largest boxed launch of 2023 in the UK.
The highly anticipated video game about a group of young warriors on a mission to save an empire has been met with a warm welcome from the British public.

Final Fantasy 16’s launch has been compared to some of the best-selling titles this year such as Grand Theft Auto 5, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, FIFA 21, and Animal Crossing.

The CEO of publisher Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda, said he was humbled by the support from fan and critics alike, stating that “The UK market welcomed Final Fantasy 16 with open arms. We could not be prouder to see such a tremendous response from our fans in the UK and Europe.”

The launch comes after the Japanese-based firm had highly successful marketing campaigns in Japan, as well as in the United States and Western Europe.

The strong performances continued into the UK charts, with on the back of strong digital sales according to analyst firm GfK.

The PlayStation 4 version of the game was the best-selling boxed launch title, followed closely by the Xbox One iteration in second. In comparison, the two versions combined sold fewer copies to what achieved in Japan after its launch.

The game also landed in third position in the overall UK boxed chart for the week, trailing Just Dance 2021 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in the top two spots.

Owing to its commercial success in the UK and other global regions, the game is now expected to be a major commercial force for Square Enix. This should come as good news to fans, as the franchise has been quiet recently in its home territory of Japan.

The success of Final Fantasy 16 in the UK and beyond is sure to give the series a much-needed boost, and hopefully lead to further commercial success for Square Enix in the future.