There's no denying it now: love it, annoyed by it, frustrated by it, or even downright hate it, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a genuine hit. FromSoftware's latest outing, and its first with renowned publisher Activision, has sold over two million copies in 10 days according to a recent press release issued by the publisher.
"Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has shinobi-death-blowed its way into fans hearts and the top of the charts! With a 'Must-Play' status on Metacritic that only one percent of all games achieve each year and 90+ rated review score across all platforms on Metacritic, the highly-anticipated game sold more than two million copies worldwide across PlayStation, Xbox and PC in less than 10 days.", the press release states.
To put those numbers in perspective and see how huge these sales numbers are, Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad compares Sekiro's success with FromSoftware's Souls series:
The original Dark Souls sold 2.37 million copies in 1 and a half years.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 11, 2019
Dark Souls 2 sold 2.5 million copies in a year.
Dark Souls 3 took a couple of months to reach 3 million.
This trend suggests that despite the niche appeal of developer FromSoftware's game design, more gamers are still looking for the unique challenge it provides. The game's release and players' subsequent playthroughs sparked another debate regarding the accessibility of certain video games, and the call for "easy modes" for less capable gamers.
In spite of all these, Activision finds itself quite pleased with the commercial success of Sekiro.
The original Dark Souls sold 2.37 million copies in 1 and a half years.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 11, 2019
Dark Souls 2 sold 2.5 million copies in a year.
Dark Souls 3 took a couple of months to reach 3 million.
“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has brought something very special and unique to Activision’s portfolio of games. It’s been an honor to work with FromSoftware to help introduce a brand-new franchise to gamers around the world,” said Michelle Fonseca, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Activision, in the press release “The fans have made Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice one of the most incredible game launches of 2019 thus far. The game has performed well on all platforms including PC and we’re excited by the continued support from gamers and critics alike. It has been gratifying to see the enjoyment from fans when they overcome each challenge.”
The press release also revealed the game's popularity within the Twitch community, citing "more than 631 million minutes watched on Twitch during launch weekend."
These numbers are proof that despite their niche appeal, FromSoftware's challenging games are here to stay, and is set to inspire more clones, as proven by the coining of the term Souls-like. I for one can't wait for the DLCs, or maybe even a sequel.
