Bandai Namco expected Elden Ring, which was released after a long wait, to sell 4 million copies in five weeks. Considering that Dark Souls 3 sold 3 million copies within a month of its release, you might think that this number looks pretty ambitious.
However, Elden Ring eclipsed the company’s expectations: Within 18 days of release, 12 million copies were sold worldwide, with 1 million in Japan alone. The company announced the game’s record-breaking sales numbers in a press release, and they also talked about the possibility of expanding the brand “beyond the gaming world.”
These numbers came from “sales of physical and downloadable versions” as of March 14, 2022, according to the announcement. With these sales figures, Elden Ring also broke important records when it comes to Souls type games.
FromSoftware’s predecessor, Sekiro, sold 2 million copies in 10 days, and it took four years for Dark Souls 3, the best-selling game in the series, to reach 10 million copies worldwide. Considering how successful it is, it seems appropriate to compare Elden Ring with Pokémon Legends Arceus, which sold 6.5 million copies in seven days, and it’s a game from a brand that already has a large following.
FromSoftware developed Elden Ring with the help of George RR Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire, who wrote the overarching myths of the game involving Lovecraftian creatures and dragons. Heading the project is Hidetaka Miyazaki, who is known for developing the notoriously difficult Souls games as well as directing Bloodborne and Sekiro.
was supposed to release in January, but was delayed and released on February 25 for PlayStation 5 and 4, Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.
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