Elden Ring sales soar past a significant new milestone
Just over a year after Elden Ring from FromSoftware launched, the open-world RPG sold 20.5 million copies. The news comes from a translated version of publisher Bandai Namco’s investor report covering the company’s fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2023 (thanks, Eurogamer).
That's an extra 500,000 copies in one month since the end of February 2023, when Elden Ring approached the 20 million milestone. Nico Partners director of research and insights Daniel Ahmad said on Twitter at the time that it took Dark Souls 3 four years to sell 10 million copies.
“In the digital business, in home video games, major worldwide titles released in the previous consolidated fiscal year,” the report reads. “Repeat sales of existing titles such as Elden Ring were strong, especially overseas, worldwide sales reaching 20.5 million. New Worldwide titles got off to slow starts, but Smaller more Medium Sized Products moved steadily.”
One Piece Odyssey and Dragon Ball performed well, though Bandai said some worldwide titles were off to a slow start, without naming them. The publisher expects Elden Ring sales to decrease in the current fiscal year, so if the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree is set to release sometime in 2023, Bandai apparently thinks it won’t drive new sales.
A new Tekken is also in the works, with an undecided release timeframe.
Elsewhere in the report, Bandai Namco said they expect Gundam and Gundam-related products to continue selling well, thanks to the Witch of Mercury, and said they are “improving developmental capabilities” to improve quality and make games that “can be enjoyed for a long time.”
