Metaphor: ReFantazio Immediately Tops 1 Million Sales at Launch

ReFantastico

11 Oct 2024, 11:30 by Robert Ramsey · Push Square

Out today on PS5 and PS4 (as well as PC and Xbox Series), Metaphor: ReFantazio has immediately surpassed 1 million sales, making it Atlus' fastest-selling game to date. An undeniably impressive feat for the fantasy RPG, which is launching into a busy October schedule.

That 'fastest-selling' title needs a little context, though. We need to remember that Persona 5 remains the company's best-selling title — but unlike Metaphor, it didn't receive a worldwide release. It came west almost seven whole months after its Japanese debut.

Still, it's great to see Atlus' latest rack up some serious commercial success. Based on reviews — including our own — Metaphor is a Game of the Year contender.

Review Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS5) - Brilliant, Memorable RPG Is One of Atlus' Finest Works

More than meets the eye

Guide Metaphor: ReFantazio Guide: Character Progression, Side Content, and Collectibles

Your ultimate Metaphor: ReFantazio resource

Now it's just a case of seeing whether the game's got legs. We're sure that positive word of mouth will keep sales ticking along for at least a few weeks or months, and with the holidays fast approaching, Metaphor could end up doing very well for itself indeed.

Did you expect Metaphor to rocket out of the gates like this? Seek the throne in the comments section below.

[source x.com]

About Robert Ramsey

Robert (or Rob if you're lazy) is an assistant editor of Push Square, and has been a fan of PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 introduced him to the incredible world of video games. He still takes his fighting games seriously, but RPGs are his true passion. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he's played 'em all. A little too much, some might say.

Comments 24

1
Ralizah
12:33pm

Awesome. I feel like the demo + positive reviews really helped boost this close to launch.

Metaphor is a terrific game so far, despite some optimization issues. Studio Zero never misses. And, in this case, the combat is balanced in a way that makes it a lot more satisfying in many respects than Persona 5.

2
Shad361
12:42pm

Think it would have sold even more if this month wasn’t so packed.

3
Keyblade-Dan
12:42pm

Sure it will sell even more when Atlus release the Super Golden Royal version in a couple of months 😅

@Ralizah I had no intention of playing this game until I played the demo. This will be my first go at an Atlus game and can't wait to dive into the story.

Love this for Atlus. It'll be a great pick-up in a couple years.

6
Ralizah
1:09pm

@NimrodNation20 In general, I feel like demos benefit good games overall.

If you end up loving this, there's a lot of Atlus goodness on PS5. Catherine: Full Body, Persona 5 Royal, and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance are all fantastic as well.

7
Korgon
1:10pm

I'm so excited to jump into the full game this weekend. The demo has been living rent-free in my head for a week now. Congrats to Atlus. Another excellent RPG!

8
Pat_trick
1:18pm

The Industry should pay attention to the importance of demos.

The trailer didn't convince me at all as it wasn't clear what the game was about.

Playing the demo helped it so much and I knew it was going to be a solid game.

It also helps being an RPG where the plot takes off quite quickly, contrary from the norm.

9
Ashina
1:36pm

RIP my wallet. I wasn't planning to get Metaphor this month but the demo changed my mind. I just hope this won't add up to my already increasing JRPG backlog. Can't wait to continue the journey.

10
mwatcher
1:39pm

I was worried that the Xbox marketing would hinder sales but evidently an excellent game is an excellent game. Well done, Atlus.

11
crossbit
1:41pm

I think one of the best selling points from the demo was just the sheer confidence of it. With this sort of prologue approach, you'd usually expect maybe the opening hour as a gentle tease of the story, and then to maybe be given the option to catapult into a short segment later in the game to see the battle system in full swing.

But the mad ***** just straight up handed over the first 5-10 hours of the game, depending on your playstyle (I spent 12, with a lot of meandering around to see, talk to and loot everything). Plenty of time for people to really get stuck in and decide that it's definitely up their alley, or to find that the formula doesn't quite work for them in one way or another.

Always nice to see a new IP do well.

We tend to complain that there is nothing fresh coming out so I'm glad this could ride the coat tails of Persona to be successful.

13
CielloArc
1:50pm

Square would say it failed to meet expectations.
Anyways, congrats to Atlus.

14
TheArt
1:51pm

Been looking forward to this for the longest time but I felt it'd be 87-89ish on MC cause critics might have had enough with P3Reload and SMTV all in the same year, so was contemplating getting it on sale. Yet it still managed to sit at 94 - I had to preorder quickly.

15
Judal27
2:05pm

What is it about studio zero that makes them get tons of praise and sales lol

I wish I could play rn but I gotta hold out for a bit. I'm glad project re fantasy has finally seen the light of day after ages, even if this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I was imagining medieval fantasy persona

16
B0udoir
2:07pm

@NimrodNation20 Back in the day, all games had demos. A gaming magazine would contain a CD packed with demos, it would keep you busy for the month to try everything until the next one. I don’t understand why it stopped.

Thats honestly amazing, especially for a JRPG

Sadly I dont have time today to play it but I took next week off so I've more than enough time

18
Nei
2:18pm

Can’t wait to dive into this after work!

@CielloArc totally. Square is not impressed by the game sales, even if it’s not their game.

I'm tempted to get this over Ys X since i enjoyed the demo. But i remember Atlus and their ritual of FES / Golden / Royale / Vengeance aka complete edition that includes all DLC, some QoL, and new contents like a year later.

So yeah, i'll just wait for complete edition. But hey, congrats for Atlus / Sega 🍻

@CielloArc SE really needs to celebrate and thanks their fans more for their support. FF XVI sold 3+ million copies which is still a lot compare to other JRPG but not even once SE thanks the fans. What they only care is "the game doesn't meet their expectation". It just sound full corporate greed who see games and fans as nothing less than cash cow :/

20
Batesy125s
2:42pm

I'm very happy about this. I'll be getting it in payday next week and I can't wait, but I'm surprised to see that many sales already. Most big games don't do much more than that this quickly so for a niche genre like a JRPG that's fantastic news

21
MikeOrator
2:51pm

I think it would have sold more if Xbox hadn't had exclusive marketing rights.

22
JB_Whiting
58m ago

They got a sale from me. THIS is how you promote a game; release a generous "prologue" demo that let's you carry your progress over. Honestly I never heard of this game until I got my hands on that demo. I've never played any Persona games either, but after 5 hours with this, I fell in love, and immediately placed an order. I loved the little touches like the message at the beginning "we really hope you enjoy this slice!" and the trailer at the end that showed you what was in store if you chose to get the game.

Really was won over by it. Bravo Atlus.

EDIT: My only concerns is that the game runs quite poorly. It's in desperate need of some framerate fixes and please, please put some anti-aliasing in pronto.

23
DonJorginho
48m ago

Just got sent my copy for free by mistake (cancelled the other week due to backlog)

Sorry but not sorry Altus 😭

24
QiaraIris
29m ago

It's been a while since I woke up earlier to get some gaming time before work, but that was absolutely worth it. Just finished the first dungeon and Archetype system is a lot more fun than Persona system so far. I love being able to mix and match everyone.

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