Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the Musou spin-off of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has surpassed 3.5 million sales, according to the game’s Japanese publisher Koei Tecmo. The successor to 2014’s Hyrule Warriors, Age of Calamity combines the gameplay of Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors series and the characters and world of Breath of the Wild. It sold over 3 million copies within its first week of availability, making it the most successful Musou game so far.
Set 100 years before the events of Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity stands out against not only its predecessor but also the other games in its genre by presenting a cohesive and original story that expands on the plot established by Breath of the Wild, making it a must-play title for the fans of the latter. The game also successfully translates some of the gameplay elements from Breath of the Wild, such as the paraglider and flurry rush, while also offering diverse skill sets for the game's roster of characters.
Koei Tecmo recently published its latest earnings report for the 3rd quarter of its fiscal year, showing the sales performance of some of its titles. The report reveals that by the end of December 2020 over 3.5 million units of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has shipped since it launched back in November 2020, which is around half a million more units since the game’s first week. The impressive figure further solidifies the game’s place as the best-selling Musou game ever.
The report also mentions Koei Tecmo’s other recent releases, including Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, which was released in Japan last month and has sold over 220,000 units since, making it one of the most downloaded PS5 games of 2020 in the country. The sequel to 2019’s Atelier Ryza is scheduled to release globally this week. Team Ninja’s Nioh 2, which is also published by Koei Tecmo, also did well with over 1.4 million units shipped, which is thanks in part to the release of its second and third DLC in October and December, respectively.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is proof that Musou games can offer more than just the same cookie-cutter experience and become incredibly successful when executed well. Developer Omega Force’s previous crossover release Persona 5 Strikers, which is scheduled for a global release next month, is also another successful example of an excellently executed Musou game that offers much more than the genre it’s built on. Hopefully, Omega Force and Koei Tecmo are able to keep up or even improve the quality of its future releases and continually elevate the genre even further.
Source: Koei Tecmo