By Sagar V. Mankar 
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has an impressive debut on PC, achieving a peak of 40,564 concurrent players on Steam just three days later, on the weekend ending on January 26. This milestone cements it as the most successful PC launch for a single-player Final Fantasy game and the third-highest for any Square Enix title on Steam. In comparison, its predecessor, Final Fantasy VII Remake, recorded an all-time peak of 13,803 concurrent players. Other Square Enix games to have reached higher concurrent player count are Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, and Final Fantasy 14 as per SteamDB estimate.
What makes these numbers even more impressive is the challenge posed by piracy. The game was reportedly cracked shortly after release, which could have impacted official sales and player counts. Despite this, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has continued to thrive, showing the strong loyalty and excitement among fans.
Originally launched for PlayStation 5 exclusively on February 29, 2024, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth received widespread critical acclaim. It secured over 38 Game of the Year awards so far, as tracked by gamefa, a GOTY Tracker portal, ranking just behind Astro Bot. However, its sales on PlayStation 5 were less impressive. By April 2024, the game had sold 2 million copies on the platform. While this is a significant number, it falls short of the sales figures achieved by its predecessor, Final Fantasy VII Remake, which sold 3.5 million copies in just three days
In a May 2024 financial report, Square Enix acknowledged that the sales performance of Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI did not meet expectations, citing strategic issues and internal competition between their titles as contributing factors. To counter this, the PC release aims to expand the game’s reach to players who prefer gaming on computers.
The PC release also opens up new opportunities for the modding community. Since its launch, mods have already started appearing on platforms like Nexus Mods. Most of these focus on improving game performance or introducing minor aesthetic changes, allowing players to further personalize their experience. This customization potential further boosts the game’s appeal among PC gamers.