PS Store Sales Charts: Helldivers 2 Is Unstoppable, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Settles for Second | Push Square

The former NPD Group (now named “Circana”) has released its full North American sales data for February, and it seems like it was a pretty solid month for the industry. Players spent $4.7 billion on games, additional content, and hardware in February, up 2 percent year-on-year. Hardware was a weak spot, down 30 percent year-on-year, with PS5 #1 in terms of unit and dollar sales, Switch #2 in terms of unit sales, and Xbox Series X/S #2 in terms of dollar sales.

Helldivers 2 has taken the world by storm ever since its launch in early February, so it’s no surprise that the game is continuing to top sales charts all over the world. Circana (formerly known as the NPD Group) recently released the data for software and hardware sales in the US for the month of February (via analyst Mat Piscatella on Twitter), and Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony’s co-op shooter has topped those charts.

Ubisoft has never been one to shy away from new and upcoming technology, and as you'd expect, it's been experimenting with implementation of generative AI in video games. The publisher unveiled its NEO NPC project at GDC, an early prototype that aims to explore how AI tech can make in-game characters and experiences more immersive.

One of the big stories this year so far has been Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s relative underperformance in its home territory of Japan. Historically one of the region’s most popular franchises, the Square Enix sequel couldn’t even outsell fellow PS5 console exclusive Final Fantasy 16 in its first week on the market – a surprise considering its strong critical reception.

Sony may have revised its PS5 sales estimate for the current financial year, which will end on 31st March. But unsurprisingly it still wants to sell as many systems as possible, which means it’s going to make one last push for that all-important 21 million units target it’s been eyeing. And how does it intend to do that? One last round of price promotions.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion voice actor Shaun Conde, who played Genesis Rhapsodos in the English dub, was seemingly too sexy for Square Enix and repeatedly told stop sounding so seductive. 

Now that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been out in the wilds for a few weeks, players are reaching the end of the hot new RPG. That means many have seen the ending and are picking it apart online, for better or worse. 

Helldivers 2 came out of nowhere and took the world by storm, and that continues to be reflected in sales. It was the UK’s best-selling game in February, and it’s been seeing consistent growth in sales in the US as well. On top of that, the game also managed to top the PlayStation Plus charts for top downloads for the month of February. In both North America and Europe, Arrowhead Game Studios’ co-op third-person shooter was No. 1.

The yet-untitled third installment in the Final Fantasy Remake series will remain exclusive to PlayStation consoles. After years of rumors, speculation, and hope from legions of fans, Square Enix finally released the first chapter of its modern reimagining of Final Fantasy 7 in 2020. Final Fantasy 7 Remake only told a fraction of the original’s plot, with the recently-released Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth continuing from when Cloud and the party leave Midgar until the fateful trip to the Forgotten Capital at the end of the old FF7’s second disk.

Tower of Fantasy finds itself in a bit of a tough spot. It’s a decent enough PS5 and PS4 gacha, but against the formidable competition of Genshin Impact, it’s always struggled to stand out. Crossovers represent a great way to grab attention, however, and this Evangelion content may be the excuse you’ve been looking for to redownload the free-to-play outing.

In case you missed the big news last week, PlayStation joined the rest of the industry in cutting hundreds of jobs across its business. What's more, the platform holder is closing one of its longest-standing developers, London Studio — but it seems another UK team may have been at risk, too.

As gacha game developer HoYoverse continues its pursuit of world domination, the developer has effectively rebooted its first gacha giga hit, Honkai Impact 3rd. Already over six years old, this wasn’t the first entry in the Honkai franchise, but it was the one that blew up and catapulted the Chinese company into the mainstream. It’s obviously since gone on to build even bigger titles like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.