On May 27th, Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 will be available across all Game Pass Tiers, just in time for the new Battle for Brooklyn DLC (which retails for $14.99 and includes six to ten hours of gameplay). to a T, the latest title from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi arrives on May 28th. A free demo is available now on PC to try out.

Another big Sega role-playing game joins the service on May 29th with Studio Zero’s Metaphor: ReFantazio. Even more impressive is it will be playable for all subscription tiers. Spray Paint Simulator is out on the same day, while Crypt Custodian and Symphonia will be available on June 3rd.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Game Pass Standard subscribers can access new titles like Creatures of Ava, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 (recently announced for PS5) and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on May 22nd. All three will be playable on Xbox Series X/S.

Check out the range of titles leaving Game Pass on May 31st:

• Cassette Beasts (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Firework (PC)
• Humanity (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Remnant 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer (Cloud, Console, and PC)

According to Alinea Analytics (via GamesIndustry), its sales are also stronger, with over 785,000 copies reportedly sold on the platform in its launch week. This is more than double the sales of Metaphor: ReFantazio and even Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, though the latter arrived for PC later.

Alinea’s head of market analyst, Rhys Elliott, said Expedition 33 sold over 350,000 copies on PS5 and had over 1.5 million wishlists on Steam. Regarding its success, Elliott noted the quality and $50 price as key factors.

“The game is fantastic. It combines stunning visuals with a rewarding turn-based combat system that melds the Superstar Saga timed JRPG combat with some Sekiro-style parries. It also has an affecting story and believable writing – as well as lovable protagonists and love-to-hateable antagonists with an all-star voiceover cast.

“The low price point likely also factored in, as our Steam data shows that many players bite the bullet when a AAA game goes on sale and drops below $50.”

However, he also feels that the realistic visuals and emphasis on turn-based combat played a pivotal role. “There was also an opening for a modern, realistic-looking JRPG. Square Enix was reticent to do so with the Final Fantasy series. Now, it’s probably kicking itself.

“Expedition 33 has given RPG fans something they always wanted. If you asked Final Fantasy fans from the late ’90s/early ’00s what the ideal version of a JRPG should look like, it’d be something like this,” said Elliott.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC alongside Game Pass. You can check out our review here – we scored it a nine out of ten. Though it’s not confirmed, there’s seemingly a “good chance” of DLC, according to lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen.

Metaphor: ReFantazio and Sonic X Shadow Generations were among Sega’s last major releases of 2024, and both are enjoying steady commercial momentum. During a recent quarterly Q&A with investors, the company said both games “are performing better than expected”, allowing the company to offset at least some of its losses in projected revenue because of the cancellation of Football Manager 25.

Speaking specifically about the sales of Metaphor: ReFantazio, Sega said, “The recent number of units sold has been steadily increasing and is on pace to exceed our initial forecast. Those responses support our confidence about the title, and we believe we can expect the further sales by raising awareness of the title in the future. We will continue the effort to increase repeat sales while always closely monitor the appropriate price levels.”

Metaphor: ReFantazio sold over 1 million units on the day of its release, becoming Atlus’ fastest-selling game of all time. Sonic X Shadow Generations matched that achievement, and as of January, had hit 2 million units sold.

“The plan is currently being formulated, but we expect the volume of new titles in Full Game to be lower than this fiscal year,” said Sega. “On the other hand, we expect continuous revenue contribution from repeat sales of new titles in Full Game this fiscal year and full-scale revenue contribution from new titles in F2P.”

When Sega says “Full Game”, it refers to its major releases that aren’t free-to-play. This would include its releases like Metaphor: ReFantazio or the upcoming Shinobi: Art of Vengeance.

Sega also discussed its plans to invest in subsidiaries like Atlus, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and Sonic Team. The company wants to expand and strengthen these companies by hiring new talent and via mergers and acquisitions.

“Atlus is an important studio for us to expand Japanese IPs overseas, and we think it is necessary to strengthen it, and the studios involved in the Sonic and Like a Dragon IPs are also short of staff, and we are looking to reinforce personnel through additional hiring and M&A,” said Sega.

The company also revealed that it had sold almost 20 million copies of its newer releases up to December 31, 2024. In the first three quarters of the fiscal year, Sega reported that over two million copies of Sonic X Shadow Generations were sold, while Metaphor: ReFantazio sold over a million copies.

Its older titles have also been incredibly popular, with Persona 5 and Unicorn Overlord being among the games that were part of the 12 million sales of legacy releases.

With its library of IPs growing, Sega president and COO Shuji Utsumi had revealed in an interview that the company might get its own subscription service. He described the idea of a subscription service as “very interesting”. Sega is seemingly “evaluating some opportunities” surrounding the idea.

The most recent Sega release has been Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios’ Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. The game, available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, puts players in the shoes of an amnesiac Goro Majima who ends up getting involved with gangs of pirates around Hawaii.

Released back in February, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was launched alongside a new game plus mode added through its day one patch. Its launch was a successful one in Japan, selling more than 105,000 physical copies in the country. Over 68,000 sales were for the PS5 version, while about 37,000 copies were sold on PS4.

Sega has also been working on bringing back some of its older franchises. Alongside the recently-revealed Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, the company has also confirmed that it is working on new Crazy Taxi and Jet Set Radio games as well.

That’s as per GamesIndustry’s Christopher Dring, who recently took to Twitter to reveal that as per GSD detail, in Europe, sales for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth increased by 268 percent week-on-week following it was nominated for seven categories (including Game of the Year) at The Game Awards earlier this month.

Fellow finalists in the Game of the Year category also enjoyed sales increases, with Metaphor: ReFantazio jumping by 172 percent, Astro Bot by 61 percent, and Elden Ring – which saw its expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, nominated – by 38 percent.

Interestingly, Bloober Team and Konami’s Silent Hill 2 remake also saw a 43 percent week-on-week increase. The survival horror title did not receive a Game of the Year nomination, though it was still one of the most nominated games at this year’s event with five nominations.

The Game Awards are scheduled for December 12.

Following the reveal of the finalists for The Game Awards, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth sales increased 268% week-on-week across Europe, Astro Bot jumped 61%, Elden Ring 38%, Metaphor 172% and Silent Hill 43%.

We’re not talking huge sales figures overall, but a definite uptick

— Christopher Dring (@Chris_Dring) November 29, 2024

Unsurprisingly, on top of the software charts for the month is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which has also instantly become the third-highest selling game of the year in the US. In terms of dollar sales, its launch is 23 bigger than that of last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with 82 percent of its October sales coming on PS5 and PS4. 

Trailing behind in second place is Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO, which has also got off to a quick start. It has instantly become the fourth-highest selling game of the year in the US, in addition to becoming not only the bestselling Dragon Ball game in the US to date in dollar sales (yes, already), but also Bandai Namco’s third-highest selling game of all time in the region, behind Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3. 

In third place in the charts we have Konami and Bloober Team’s remake of Silent Hill 2. It’s already become the No. 2 bestselling game in the Silent Hill series in the region to date, behind the original Silent Hill 2. 

Meanwhile, several other major titles that launched in October also occupy in the US’ charts for the month, with Steel City Interactive and Plaion’s Undisputed (No. 4), Atlus and Sega’s Metaphor: ReFantazio (No. 5), BioWare and EA’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard (No. 6), Nintendo Cube and Nintendo’s Super Mario Party Jamboree (No. 7), Sonic Team and Sega’s Sonic X Shadow Generations, and Deck Nine and Square Enix’s Life is Strange: Double Exposure (No. 18).

On the hardware side of things, consumer spending in the US dropped 23 percent in October year-on-year, with a total of 604,000 hardware units sold (down from 759,000 in October last year). PS5 was the bestselling console of the month in the US in dollar and unit sales, while Xbox Series X/S took second place in both metrics. However, all consoles saw a year-on-year drop in sales, with Switch dollar sales slipping by 38 percent, PS5 sales by 20 percent, and Xbox Series X/S sales by 18 percent. 

Elden Ring’s expansion getting nominated might take some by surprise, but it was confirmed shortly before the nominees were announced that expansions, remakes, and remasters of previously released titles would be eligible for all categories. A few notable titles that failed to make the cut for the big category, meanwhile, include the likes of Helldivers 2, Silent Hill 2, and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

In total, Astro Bot and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are the most widely nominated games for this year’s event with seven nominations each, followed by Metaphor: ReFantazio with six nominations, Balatro and Silent Hill 2 by five nominations apiece, and Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Helldivers 2, and Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 with four nominations each.

Meanwhile, PlayStation is the most nominated publisher this year with 16 nominations, while Square Enix and Xbox follow behind with 12 apiece, and Sega with 11. You can check out the full list of nominees below.

The Game Awards are set for December 12.

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio

BEST GAME DIRECTION

• Astro Bot
• Balatro
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio

BEST NARRATIVE

• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Silent Hill 2

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Astro Bot
• Black Myth: Wukong
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Neva

BEST SCORE AND MUSIC

• Astro Bot
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Silent Hill 2 
• Stellar Blade

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Astro Bot
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Silent Hill 2

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Briana White as Aerith (Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth)
• Hannah Telle as Max (Life is Strange: Double Exposure)
• Humberly Gonzalez as Kay (Star Wars Outlaws)
• Luke Roberts as James (Silent Hill 2)
• Melina Juergens as Senua (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2)

GAMES FOR IMPACT

• Closer the Distance
• Indika
• Neva
• Life is Strange: Double Exposure
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• Tales of Kenzera: Zau

BEST ONGOING GAME

• Destiny 2
• Diablo 4
• Final Fantasy 14
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2

BEST INDIE GAME

• Animal Well
• Balatro
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
• Neva
• UFO 50

BEST DEBUT INDIE

• Animal Well
• Balatro
• Manor Lords
• Pacific Drive
• The Plucky Squire

BEST MOBILE GAME

• AFK Journey
• Balatro
• Wuthering Waves
• Zenless Zone Zero
• Pokemon: The Trading Card Game Pocket

BEST COMMUNITY SUPPORT

• Baldur’s Gate 3
• Final Fantasy 14
• Fortnite
• Helldivers 2
• No Man’s Sky

INNOVATION IN ACCESSIBILITY

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Diablo 4
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Star Wars Outlaws

BEST VR/AR GAME

• Arizona Sunshine Remake
• Asgard’s Wrath 2
• Batman: Arkham Shadow
• Metal: Hellsinger VR
• Metro Awakening

BEST ACTION GAME

• Black Myth: Wukong
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Helldivers 2
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
• Stellar Blade

BEST ACTION-ADVENTURE GAME

• Astro Bot
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Silent Hill 2
• Star Wars Outlaws
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

BEST ROLE-PLAYING GAME

• Dragon’s Dogma 2
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
• Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
• Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
• Metaphor: ReFantazio

BEST FIGHTING GAME

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO
• Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
• Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
• MultiVersus
• Tekken 8

BEST FAMILY GAME

• Astro Bot
• Princess Peach: Showtime!
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
• The Plucky Squire

BEST SIM/STRATEGY GAME

• Age of Mythology: Retold
• Frostpunk 2
• Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
• Manor Lords
• Unicorn Overlord

BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME

• F1 24
• EA Sports FC 25
• NBA 2K25
• TopSpin 2K25
• WWE 2K24

BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Helldivers 2
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• Tekken 8

BEST ADAPTATION

• Arcane
• Fallout
• Knuckles
• Like a Dragon: Yakuza
• Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

• Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
• Ghost of Yotei
• Grand Theft Auto 6
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
• Monster Hunter Wilds

Speaking in a recent interview with Famitsu, Hashino revealed that he has already started working on his next project at Atlus. When asked about when he will begin working on his next game after Metaphor: ReFantazio, he said, “Oh, I have already started.”

Hashino then went on to add that he doesn’t view projects from an individual perspective, but rather as something that will be the best next step for all of Atlus as a whole, as well as for the players.

“I don’t really think about what to do as an individual,” he said (translation via @Genki_JPN on Twitter). “I look at Atlas as a whole and think about what is best for our team to create right now. Firstly I want the users to be happy, and as a result I hope the company will be happy as well. That is how I always work.”

What Hashino’s next project will be is anyone’s guess, but given his incredible track record, it’s fair to say that people will be keenly awaiting news on whatever it is that he and his team are working on next.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Patch 1.03 is more significant. It adds the same features for the PC version while adding anti-aliasing. The audio volume balance has also seen adjustments, with the overall Master Volume being increased. All platforms have also received various minor fixes. Check out the full notes for both patches below.

Metaphor: ReFantazio has received extensive critical acclaim since its launch, becoming the second highest-rated game of the year per Metacritic. It also sold over one million copies on its first day, smashing all of Atlus’s previous records, and even crossed 85,000 peak concurrent players at launch on Steam. If that weren’t enough, it also topped Japanese sales charts in the first week with over 108,000 units sold.

1.04 – Xbox, PlayStation 4/5:

• Adjustments made to the Camera Shake Off feature
• Fixed an issue where New Game+ start save data wasn’t generating correctly under certain conditions
• Other minor fixes

1.03 – PC (Windows PC & Steam):

• Anti-aliasing feature implemented. Anti-aliasing can be adjusted in SETTINGS > Graphic Settings
• Adjustments made to the Camera Shake Off feature
• Adjustments made to audio volume balance

Note: Today’s patch for Windows PC and Steam increases the game’s Master Volume. Please turn down your computer’s volume before starting up and readjust the in-game Master Volume setting. We apologize for the inconvenience!

• Fixed an issue where New Game+ start save data wasn’t generating correctly under certain conditions
• Other minor fixes

Metaphor: ReFantazio, which sold over a million units worldwide in its first six hours, has topped the charts, with its PS5 version taking the top spot and its PS4 version coming in at No. 4, collectively selling over 108,000 units. That’s certainly a decent debut for a new IP, though those numbers do fall below some of Atlus’ other major recent releases. Persona 3 Reload, for instance, sold over 116,000 physical copies on debut, while Shin Megami Tensei 5 sold over 143,000 units when it originally released in 2021.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO also launched last week, and has also enjoyed solid initial sales. With over 63,000 physical units sold in Japan upon its release, the 3D arena fighter took second place in the charts. The game sold over 3 million units worldwide in its first 24 hours.

There’s also Konami and Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake, which debuted in third place, selling over 29,000 units- decent figures for the return of a long-dormant franchise that was never typically a huge seller. The game sold over a million units worldwide in its first three days.

Meanwhile, on the hardware side of things, the Switch was once again the best-seller in Japan last week, having moved over 55,000 units, while the PS5 lagged behind by a healthy margin, only managing to sell over 11,000 units in spite of a number of major new game releases.

You can check out the full hardware and physical software sales charts for Japan for the week ending October 13 below.

Software sales (followed by lifetime sales):

1. [PS5] Metaphor: ReFantazio – 82,827 (New)
2. [PS5] Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO – 63,922 (New)
3. [PS5] Silent Hill 2 – 29,374 (New)
4. [PS4] Metaphor: ReFantazio – 25,385 (New)
5. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – 19,710 (268,039)
6. [NSW] Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord – 8,061 (New)
7. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 6,372 (6,025,572)
8. [NSW] Minecraft – 4,695 (3,652,504)
9. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 4,310 (7,930,668)
10. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports – 4,188 (1,442,980)

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

• Nintendo Switch – 55,082 (63,807)
• PS5 – 11,804 (12,551)
• Xbox Series X/S – 425 (355)