Taking to Twitter, Sandlot and D3 Publisher have announced that Earth Defense Force 6 has sold over 600,000 units worldwide across all platforms. That’s up from 550,000 units in September, which means the bombastic alien-slaughtering shooter has sold an additional 50,000 units since then.

In our review of Earth Defense Force 6, we awarded it a score of 7/10, praising it for its combat, environmental destruction, and campy tone while reserving criticism for its lack of polish and repetitive missions. Read the full review through here.

Earth Defense Force 6 is available on PS5, PS4, and PC.

＼\✨感謝御礼✨/／
『地球防衛軍6』全世界販売本数60万本を突破‼️
沢山のご入隊ありがとうございます！
引き続きEDFをよろしくお願いいたします。

▼各ゲームストアにてEDFシリーズセール実施中🎮
Steam：https://t.co/InH9ougi68
PS5/PS4：https://t.co/ZAtMEIMvrz
Switch：https://t.co/ABDP3TO14L pic.twitter.com/PH8dkXzPvL

— 地球防衛軍(EDF)公式🌏 (@EDF_OFFICIAL) February 21, 2025

Despite retaining many of the ingredients that make EDF what it’s been, Earth Defense Force 6 achieves a couple of series benchmarks and firsts. EDF 6 marks the first time the series has entered into the current console generation, being available on PS5, PS4, and PC. The game can be played in 4K for the first time and there’s a general framerate improvement when run on performance settings. And you’ll be thankful for the increased fidelity and performance considering EDF 6 has the longest campaign in the series, with over 130 missions and thousands of weapons. Earth Defense Force 6 is also the first direct sequel in the series, following the rather abrupt and devastating cliffhanger Earth Defense Force 5 left players with. As expected, EDF 6 retains much from the previous game, with identical menus, combat, and even some repeated missions. But before diving deeper into EDF 6’s gameplay, let’s talk about the story and presentation.

"The mission structure is remarkably simple and can be enjoyed as an old-school couch co-op experience."

Since EDF 6 is a direct sequel to EDF 5, you can’t really avoid spoilers for the previous game. That said, the EDF series never took their stories too seriously, which is something that’ll hit you in the face as soon as you start up EDF 6’s opening mission. You find yourself in a battered bunker when a hilariously cheesy drill sergeant starts hurling insults at all the ‘worthless maggot’ recruits.

Despite the world’s population being reduced by 10% after the catastrophic events of the previous game, there’s still plenty of hilarious banter between soldiers, most of it unintended. My favorite of these campy moments was rather innocuous. The sergeant gets swung around like a ragdoll by giant fire ants as he politely, and rather demurely, asks them to “please, let him go,” highlights the sheer absurdity of the writing and its wonderfully campy tone throughout.

"Bringing up the chat box during cinematic moments can result in some funny moments"

A lot of the humor is intentional, but there’s a ton of unintentional hilarity here as well. Flat voice lines and occasional mistranslations permeate the game’s script, but it all comes off as self-aware B-movie cheese in the end due to the inherent tone the game succeeds at. You can even say your own cheesy lines through the chat box, which consists of affirmations, celebrations, and orders you can give to co-op partners. Roughly half of these chat box lines are voice-acted, with different actors for each of the four classes.

I find some of the storytelling to be clumsily done, though not due to the obvious B-movie cheese. There’s a general lack of flow and internal glue between sequences, something that is shockingly apparent after the climactic 13^th mission. Without spoiling too much, a break in the status quo occurs at the end of this mission, resulting in a complete shift in time and space. Even if you’ve played EDF 5 to completion and know the story inside/out, it’s difficult to understand what just took place. There’s a lack of explanation and set-up, not just for that penultimate moment, but the entire game. Missions often feel disjointed and disconnected from one another since there’s no overarching narration or connecting thread, even when you have the same squad around you. On a brighter note, much of the English cast from EDF 5 returns during these ‘totally-not-a-flashback’ sequences, with Sarge being a highlight throughout. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of sound, the music is absolutely banging in this game. The laughably barebones intro is strengthened by the engaging orchestral score and the menu themes simply rule. Your EDF squad will randomly chant anthems as you march forward to battle, further highlighting the strong musical core in EDF 6.

"Most of your time will be spent wildly shooting hordes of oversized insects and aliens."

And you’ll need inspired anthems since you’ll be engaging in a LOT of shooting in this game. Overall, the controls are rather straightforward. You have an over-the-shoulder camera perspective and can sprint and dodge while playing as the Ranger class. Certain weapons allow you to zoom in with a scope for precise aiming, but a majority of combat is spent wildly spamming enemies in the face with bullets. While the shooting is more precise here than other EDF games, it’s certainly not on the level of Gears or more polished third-person games, but it does its job well enough. Sprinting, however, controls horrendously due to the camera. Every time you sprint, the camera zooms in so your character fills the entire screen. There’s no way to change the sprint camera in the settings either, so get used to not seeing anything while desperately sprinting away from hordes of bugs. I always grit my teeth whenever I have to sprint due to how disorienting and obfuscating it is with all the action going on. Likewise, the chat box is brought up anytime you use the D-pad, which can get really annoying when bringing up the pause menu and trying to change settings. This is a slight UI issue at the end of the day, but the cluttered menu overlays still stick out as a sloppy oversight.

Thankfully, the missions themselves are straightforward and just plain fun. You constantly feel engaged in combat and there’s hardly any annoying irritating missions of the escort/protect variety. You can get your entire squad ‘killed’ and still overcome the mission if you yourself manage to survive. Earth Defense Force 6 is basically a shooter version of the Dynasty Warriors musou games, with giant swarms of bugs and aliens filling the streets instead of Chinese armies. There’s a satisfaction of being caught in the middle of 50 giant ants and just holding down the trigger blasting through them to victory that can’t be overstated. However, this simple fun can get repetitive pretty fast, especially during long gaming sessions.  While it’s a good thing that there’s not too many annoying mission types, there’s also just not enough mission variety in general. Sure, each mission has a slightly different environment with occasional new enemies and layouts, but the objective and strategy usually end up being the same.

I would enjoy this simple mission structure more if there were mid-mission checkpoints, but alas, every death results in you redoing the mission from the start. And EDF 6 doesn’t play around; it can get difficult in its later stages, so you may end up repeating the same mission multiple times even on Normal difficulty. While the missions aren’t particularly long, lasting anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes, the lack of checkpoints adds repetitive padding and artificial difficulty. Despite all this, Earth Defense Force 6 makes for an ideal popcorn game. It’s easy to turn your brain off for 15 minutes as you mow down giant bugs and blow buildings up. Speaking of blowing up buildings, the environmental destruction is an absolute delight in EDF 6. Every single building is destructible, which is good because enemies just love climbing and attacking on top of said buildings.

"The Air Raider class gives you drones and the ability to call in helicopter airstrikes. Each class has a unique set of weaponry."

The four different classes provide a lot of variety in kit and playstyle to make up for the repetitive mission structure. If you’re playing online co-op you can even form a team comprised of all four classes, making for one heck of a balanced offensive. Ranger is your common infantry rifleman who can equip rifles, shotguns, rocket launchers, missile launchers, and a variety of grenades. Earth Defense Force 6 has drivable vehicles and Rangers are the only class besides Air Raiders who can commandeer them. The vehicles themselves have sloppy driving controls but work well enough for the amount of time you use them in EDF 6. Wing Divers are your jetpack class with enhanced mobility, though they’re more prone to damage. Air Raiders provide support, calling in a variety of air strikes and vehicle drops. Finally, Fencers are slow heavies with the most powerful arsenal of weaponry in the game, fulfilling the tank role perfectly. There’s a boatload of different weapons, grenades, shields, etc., that you obtain through enemy drops. When enemies drop duplicate equipment, it levels them up, further enhancing all the various parameters automatically. I like how automatic the process of leveling up and upgrading equipment is in this game considering the sheer number of equipment and class options available.

All in all, Earth Defense Force 6 provides a fun time and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a perfect popcorn game to relax to if you just want to shoot and blow stuff up mindlessly. This entry is very similar to its prequel, EDF 5, but includes more bang for your buck due to the huge campaign and enhanced performance and graphics. If you want simple, silly fun packaged in a lengthy co-op campaign, you can’t go wrong with Earth Defense Force 6.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

With humanity more or less extinct, the plot sees the EDF going back in time to try and change history. It’s easier said than done, though, and players can look forward to roughly 150 missions – the most in the series to date. There’s also support for up to four players in co-op.

After its launch, Earth Defense Force 6 has garnered a “Mostly Negative” rating on Steam, with only 23 percent of its 657 user reviews positive. The backlash from the title mandating an Epic Games Store account to play online. Whether it was mistakenly added remains to be seen, so stay tuned for updates.

Earth Defense Force 6, which released for Japanese audiences back in 2022, has finally been given a specific release date in Western markets. Previously confirmed to be releasing in the West this spring before being pushed back into summer, D3 Publisher has now announced with a new trailer that the game will release in the west on July 25. The trailer, which is presented as an appropriately humorous live news report, can be viewed below.

Upon its release, Earth Defense Force 6 will be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Earth Defense Force 6 was originally released in Japan all the way back in August 2022. The game has since been fairly successful for D3 Publisher, having shipped 300,000 copies in its first week—an impressive milestone considering the fact that the game was only available on PS4 and PS5 in Japan at the time.

The sixth game in the Earth Defense Force series, Earth Defense Force 6 takes place three years after humanity won the war against invaders known as “Primers”—the events of Earth Defense Force 5. The game revolves around players having to help humanity continue their efforts rebuild, while at the same time also dealing with leftover alien colonists.

Earth Defense Force 6 will allow players to pick between the Ranger, Air Raider, Wing Diver and Fencer classes, and will support for up to four players in online co-op. Local co-op is also an option for up to two players.

Ironically, the game takes place during the Edo period in Japan. For those not well-versed in Japanese history, this period lasted over 200 hundred years between the 17^th and 19^th centuries and was largely known for the peace that Japan enjoyed following the strife occurring between warring clans in the feudal era. But there’s not much peace to be had here as zombies have risen to claim the flesh of the living. This theme aside, the narrative is largely absent. There are loading screens with static images featuring dialogue and small tidbits of lore throughout. But there really isn’t any overarching plot to write home about.

"Ed-0 takes the nature of rogue-likes and seemingly attempts to capture the intensity of Souls games, making this one a particularly dicey affair."

Because of this, that means the gameplay is central to this experience and is really what the title should thrive on. But does it? First, let’s start with the game’s fundamentals. As with any game in the rogue-like genre, each world is randomly generated and death results in a restart of the mission which also resets the layout. Each mission is designated by conquering a number of “floors.” In each “floor” or level, you’ll have to find and potentially unlock Torri gates to continue to the next floor. Torri gates are color-coded by what potential boosts they offer during your small reprieve between floors. For instance, Yellow Torri gates will offer you a food item to boost your stamina or “Zen.” Zombies are littered throughout each floor and you’ll engage in a typical hack n’ slash approach to defeat them. You can acquire special moves called “Secret Arts” throughout each floor. Your character can equip a total of four Secret Arts per mission. Furthermore, if you acquire pick-ups of the same Secret Art you already have equipped, you can use that to boost the special attack in various ways.

While you travel from floor to floor, you must also manage your stamina by eating food, taking strength pills, or consuming any other boost that helps you maintain Zen. If you run out of stamina, the game will let you know you are hungry. In this state, your life will start whittling away, and yes, you can die from starvation.

Your ultimate goal for a given mission is to make it through a series of floors, usually 10 in total. The last floor often contains a boss character you must fight. While you can rush from Torri gate to Torri gate and climb to the last floor rather quickly without fighting many zombies, you won’t have the boosts necessary to take on the final boss and you’ll die miserably. So, in effect, you should explore and seek out boosts, Secret Arts, and consumables along your journey. Ed-0’s problems lie in the game’s method of shepherding you through a given mission.  Ultimately, the developers want you to be challenged. And you will, indeed, be challenged. But it’s not necessarily a good thing. Other rogue-likes and Souls-type games that amplify the difficulty do so in a way that employs strategy, player education, and growth. Ed-0, unfortunately, grants all of its enemy characters an egregious amount of vitality in the wake of your standard attacks. On the flip side, a traditional zombie dealing a melee strike cuts through your life bar swiftly. This, in effect, forces you to find the necessary means of boosting your Secret Arts attacks and finding powerful consumables. However, since the game is randomly generated, it’s essentially a crapshoot. I’ve had runs where I’ve largely gained nothing. Conversely, I’ve had runs where I was dealt a decent hand.

"Ed-0, unfortunately, grants all of its enemy characters an egregious amount of vitality in the wake of your standard attacks. On the flip side, a traditional zombie dealing a melee strike cuts through your life bar swiftly. This, in effect, forces you to find the necessary means of boosting your Secret Arts attacks and finding powerful consumables. However, since the game is randomly generated, it’s essentially a crapshoot. I’ve had runs where I’ve largely gained nothing. Conversely, I’ve had runs where I was dealt a decent hand."

Each mission must be completed in this manner in order to proceed to the next mission. Therefore, if you’re stuck, you’ll simply have to keep trying. The game does offer forms of permanent upgrades. There is a hub village where you go in between missions. As you gain coins from a quest, you keep them as long as you survive. You can even opt out mid-way through a run by taking a Homebound Torri gate to retain what you’ve collected without risking death and losing it. You can then deposit it in the bank to keep it safe or spend it at the Dojo on valuable buffs.

While some might find satisfaction in this gameplay loop, most will regard the combat as overly repetitive and tedious. When you have to slash an average zombie – without using Secret Arts attacks – upwards of 15 times or more to kill it, you know this zombie-killing ride will eventually become a real bore. While most enemies are easy to run away from, the bosses provide a steep challenge. Eventually, quicker and more deadlier enemies will be introduced in the normal floors including boss characters from previous runs. One misstep could cost you a third of your life or more in a single blow. Before you know it, you’re finished.

The controls are tight and responsive. Your character moves quickly, though sometimes you might forget which Secret Arts button combo you’ve assigned the action to as it will change with each mission. Some controls are a little awkward such as holding L2 and pushing the up button on the D-pad in order to throw an object. Aside from a few non-standard schemes such as that, there really aren’t any major hang-ups with the controls.

"The models for the zombies are often far too simple, jagged, and infinitely repetitive. Zombie clones will be noticeable at every turn. Aside from character combat, animations are robotic. The labyrinthine pathways of each floor in a given mission are rather dull and uninspired."

Graphically, Ed-0 looks like what you’d expect from a budget studio and publisher. This isn’t a AAA affair. The models for the zombies are often far too simple, jagged, and infinitely repetitive. Zombie clones will be noticeable at every turn. Aside from character combat, animations are robotic. The labyrinthine pathways of each floor in a given mission are rather dull and uninspired. Sure, you’re here to slay zombies and survive, not sightsee. But the foreground should at least have some appeal and at least be interesting to a degree. The developers did, however, include an EDO Shader that you can apply to the graphics that ultimately make things a little more refined. It’s a cel-shading style that helps the world feel a bit more animated

At the end of the day, Ed-0: Zombie Uprising doesn’t fully respect your time as the player. While some may find enjoyment in its painstakingly rigorous combat with the undead, most will feel frustrated and exhausted with its unrewarding and unbalanced difficulty mechanics. It’s a game that lives in the shadows of challenging rogue-likes and Soulsborne titles. While budget graphics, sound design, and animation don’t necessarily make or break a game, poor difficulty balance and a subpar combat grind absolutely will.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

This milestone essentially makes Earth Defense Force 6 the fastest-selling game in the storied Earth Defense Force franchise.

Earth Defense Force 6 was originally announced back in 2020. It was originally planned for a 2021 release, but its release date got pushed back to August 2022.

Set in 2027—three years after the events of Earth Defense Force 5—Earth Defense Force 6 is stated to offer “the greatest sense of despair and excitement in the series yet,” according to its developers.

There is yet to be an announcement for the western release of Earth Defense Force 6, but considering the general popularity of the series in the west, it is quite likely that we’ll see an English release at some point.

The highest selling game of the week, however, is Earth Defense Force 6, which recently launched in Japan. It also occupies two places, with the PS4 version taking the top spot with over 68,000 units sold and the PS5 version coming in at No. 4 respectively with over 24,000 units sold.

SD Gundam Battle Alliance is the next new release of the week that figures into the charts, and it also occupies multiple places. Its Nintendo Switch version takes the second spot with over 38,000 units sold, the PS4 version comes in at sixth place with over 17,000 units sold, and the PS5 version slots in at No. 10 with over 9,000 units sold. The final new release of the week in the top 10, meanwhile, is Saints Row, selling over 10,000 units and taking the ninth spot.

On the hardware front, meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch is dominant once again, collectively selling over 113,000 units across all of its models. The PS5 trails by a massive gap, having moved over 25,000 units over the course of the week, while the Xbox Series consoles follow with over 16,000 units sold.

You can check out the full software and hardware charts for the week ending August 28 below.

Software sales (followed by last week’s sales):

1. [PS4] Earth Defense Force 6 – 68,341 (New)
2. [NSW] SD Gundam Battle Alliance – 38,634 (New)
3. [PS4] Soul Hackers 2 – 31,604 (New)
4. [PS5] Earth Defense Force 6 – 24,363 (New)
5. [PS5] Soul Hackers 2 – 20,257 (New)
6. [PS4] SD Gundam Battle Alliance – 17,950 (New)
7. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 11,644 (4,802,581)
8. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports – 10,576 (706,637)
9. [PS4] Saints Row – 10,013 (New)
10. [PS5] SD Gundam Battle Alliance – 9,625 (New)

Hardware sales:

• Nintendo Switch – 113,530
• PS5 – 25,109
• Xbox Series X/S – 16,726

Recently, the game crossed an important sales milestone, with D3 Publisher announcing via the series’ official Twitter page that Earth Defense Force 5 has now sold over a million units worldwide. The game first launched in Japan back in 2017, before launching in the West in 2018. A year later, it also became available for PC worldwide.

In our review of the game back in December 2018, we awarded it a score of 7/10, saying, “Earth Defense Force 5 is a great game for folks who don’t need any good reason for just wanting to blow up a lot of bugs with a lot of guns.” You can read the full review through here.

Meanwhile, Earth Defense Force 6 is due out for PS5 and PS4 on August 25 in Japan. A western launch date hasn’t yet been confirmed for the game.

https://twitter.com/EDF_OFFICIAL/status/1559739836847628288

With that being said, the next numbered entry in the long-running series, Earth Defense Force 6, has finally got itself its Japanese release date after its delay back in 2021, with the game set to release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 this August 25. Additionally, PlayStation 4 users will get to upgrade their copy to the PlayStation 5 version for no additional charges.

The standard edition will cost 8,980 yen, with the deluxe edition costing 12,100 yen. The deluxe edition will include a season pass with it, and PlayStation Plus subscribers will be eligible for a 15% discount if they pre-order. Furthermore, D3 Publisher has also announced pre-order bonuses for the game, including a special plasma core, with early adopter bonuses including three decoys.

D3 Publisher is yet to announce the western release date for the game, but given their track record with the series, the announcement shouldn’t be too far away. We will keep you posted once more details are revealed.

For now, check out the game’s new trailer down below.