Square Enix may issue yet another one of its “failed to meet expectations” notices, and this time it could be Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth that’s to blame.
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New reports indicate that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth isn’t selling nearly as well as Remake, the first game in the new reboot series, and it’s possible that Square Enix’s profit targets will be affected by the potential sales miss.
The news comes by way of Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad, who relayed the info on Twitter: “Rebirth is underperforming sales-wise. It’s selling about half of what Remake sold in the same timeframe and looks like it’ll have a weaker tail,” Ahmad said, citing equities research firms as the source of the data.
The news could be troubling to Square Enix management, who recently said that the company’s profit forecast was tied to how well Rebirth sold at market.
“We believe that sales of “FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH” are the greatest variable on which our ability to achieve our full-year operating income target of ¥55.0 billion hinges,” company president Takashi Kiryu said in a recent Q&A.
Operating income is a critical measure of the company’s overall performance. Square Enix hopes to have made 55 billion yen (about $356 million) in Fiscal Year 2023, up from 44 billion yen in Fiscal Year 2022.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth released in late February, which is just before Square Enix’s fiscal year ends in March.
The company has yet to comment on any sales milestones for the game and will reveal its Q4 results in May, so we’ll probably get an update sometime then.