Square Enix has commented on the launch sales ofForspokenduring an earnings report, calling its performance lackluster at launch.Forspokenis an action-adventure game made by Luminous Productions, the development team behindFinal Fantasy 15, and it came out on PS5 and PC in January 2023 to mixed reviews.
The PS5 version ofForspokencurrently has a rating of 64 on Metacritic, with the user score far lower at 3.5.Forspokenwas criticized for having a generic open worldin addition to its story and various gameplay systems lacking refinement. Now, publisher Square Enix has commented on the launch sales ofForspoken, giving fans an insight into its market performance in the opening months of 2023.
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As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda has dubbed the sales ofForspokenas lackluster, while claiming to have received positive feedback on the parkour and combat elements of the game. The same report also shares details on the positive qualities ofForspoken’s developer Luminous Productions, reiterating that it will be merged with Square Enix beginning June 12, 2025.
There could be several different reasons forForspoken’s launch sales being lackluster, and it may be difficult to point the finger at any one event. For starters,Forspokenlaunched in a relatively busy month, asJanuary 2023 saw the release ofDead Space,One Piece Odyssey, the current-gen version ofMonster Hunter Rise, and the ports ofPersona 4 GoldenandPersona 3 Portable.
Additionally, Square Enix released a surprise demo forForspokenin December 2022, allowing fans to get a hands-on experience with its gameplay features. Unfortunately, some fans criticized thisForspokendemo for being noticeably blurry in performance mode on PS5, with many comments also being directed towards its surprisingly high system requirements on PC. Finally,reviews forForspokenwere scarce ahead of its launch, which can sometimes hint at the publisher not having enough confidence in the final product.
Overall,Forspokenmay go down as one of the most disappointing AAA releases of 2023 so far, as some fans left negative scores online to share their issues with the game.Forspokenwas review bombed on Metacriticwith many users citing complaints regarding its writing and the characterization of Frey, the protagonist of the story. It should be noted that some fans did list out a few positive aspects, such as the combat and traversal mechanics ofForspoken, but it doesn’t seem like it was enough to balance out the shortcomings.
Forspokenis available now for PC and PS5.
