Japanese video game development company, FromSoftware, is known to produce incredibly hard-to-beat games like Dark Souls, Sekiro, and Bloodborne. The unforgiving combat mechanics and terrifying bosses in their Soulsborne games are exactly what draw millions of players to their releases. In fact, last year, FromSoft revealed that one of their most recognizable series, Dark Souls, had sold over 27 million copies worldwide.
Soulsborne games have undoubtedly developed a sizeable following among gamers who enjoy a challenge, and the franchise continues to expand today. While fans have a general idea of how popular these challenging games are, just how well does this popularity translate into sales? Through press releases and conferences held by the likes of publishers Activision and Bandai Namco Entertainment, or FromSoft itself, fans of the Soulsborne games can get a clearer picture of which installments were the most successful in terms of the number of copies sold.
Demon's Souls - 1 million copies
Released exclusively for PlayStation 3 back in February 2009, Demon's Souls was met with negativity in Japan and criticized by publishers from outside the country. In fact, Sony president Shuhei Yoshida called it "an extremely bad game" in a Game Informer interview. He spent two hours playing the game and couldn't get out of the starting area. Atlus ended up bringing the game to the US in October 2009, where it performed better than anyone expected. According to Gigazine, Demon's Souls had sold over 1 million copies worldwide by 2011.
Demon’s Souls introduced iconic difficult bosses like the Flamelurker and Old King Allant, pioneering the Souls-type games that fans know and love today. While it's too early to tell how its PS5 remake is performing, a Gematsu feature reveals that over 18,000 copies were sold in Japan only four days after its initial release in November 2020.
Bloodborne - 2 million copies
Bloodborne was released exclusively for PS4 back in March 2015, in between the launches of Dark Souls 2 and Dark Souls 3. The Lovecraftian world and fast-paced combat of Bloodborne were a hit among fans. Often considered the most difficult among the Souls-type games, it would go on to influence the combat style of Dark Souls 3.
In September 2015, the PlayStation blog announced that Bloodborne had sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The announcement of this milestone was the perfect opportunity to get fans excited about The Old Hunters DLC, which was released in November of that same year.
Dark Souls 2 - 2.5 million copies
Launched in March 2014 for PS3 and Xbox 360, Dark Souls 2 built on the success of its predecessors and introduced some of Dark Souls’ most powerful monsters to the series. By this point, fans of the franchise knew to expect a challenge, which the game delivered.
Dark Souls 2 upped the ante and slowed down healing mechanics, making it even more treacherous to navigate its hazardous environment. By April 2015, a little over a year after its initial release, Dark Souls 2 had sold over 2.5 million copies. Bandai Namco Games would go on to launch its updated version, Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, that same month. This release also included the game's DLCs, which were equally as unforgiving as the base game.
Sekiro - 5 million copies
One of the more recent games from FromSoftware, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was released for Microsoft Windows, PS4, and Xbox One in March 2019. Set in "a mythical feudal Japan," Sekiro features the best core elements from the previous Souls-type games and served as an entry point for new players who wanted to get into the franchise.
The game was a massive hit, with a VG 24/7 report stating that the game sold over 2 million copies in less than 10 days after its release. And by July 2020, Activision revealed that Sekiro had sold over 5 million copies. The most recent update to the game was in October 2020 – it included quality of life improvements and a new boss rush game mode.
Dark Souls - 5.5 million copies
First released in Japan back in September 2011, and then worldwide later that same month, Dark Souls was the first in the franchise to have a cross-platform launch. The series was introduced to PS3, Xbox 360, and PC users, who would experience a more polished version of Souls' signature difficult enemies and unforgiving bosses.
A Eurogamer report details how Dark Souls had sold over 2.3 million copies by April 2013. This trend would only continue, as by June 2015, Dark Souls and Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition would sell 2.8 and 2.7 million copies respectively. Its remastered version, released in Japan in May 2018, sold over 131,000 copies during its first week alone (according to Gematsu).
Dark Souls 3 - 10 million copies
The final installment in the trilogy, Dark Souls 3 was released in March 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. Continuing from Bloodborne's success, Dark Souls 3 introduced some of the hardest bosses in the entire series, including the nearly impossible-to-beat The Nameless King and the terrifying Darkeater Midir. Like Bloodborne, it was fast-paced and had extremely challenging gameplay.
According to IGN, Dark Souls 3 was Bandai's fastest-selling game ever, with over 3 million copies sold within its first two months. By May 2020, Bandai and FromSoftware announced that the game had sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling game in the entire franchise. It also brought the total sales of the Dark Souls series to a whopping 27 million copies.