Mr Viral
Square Enix’s HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III has sold 2 million copies worldwide since its release on November 14.
The turn-based RPG released on PlayStation 5, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X|S. It’s also the latest remake for the 1988 NES classic, which has been re-released on Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, phones, and more recent consoles over the decades.
Compared to earlier HD-2D games, Dragon Quest III has sold faster than its predecessors, Octopath Traveler II and Triangle Strategy. Last year, Square Enix revealed Octopath sold 1 milion copies in about four months. The series has sold 4 million overall copies as of this past June. Meanwhile, Triangle Strategy sold 1 million copies by December 2022, about nine months after its launch that March.
Octopath Traveler, Triangle Strategy, and Dragon QuestIn the time since Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy’s respective releases, the former has come to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, and will remain on Game Pass alongside Octopath Traveler until January 2026. This past Halloween, Square Enix ported Triangle Strategy over to Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro, and pulled the game from the Nintendo Switch eShop earlier this week.
Player-wise, Dragon Quest III HD-2D has peaked at 45,357 concurrent Steam players. At launch, it opened to 37,323 players, and became Square Enix’s biggest single-player release on the platform.
Square Enix is continuing the HD-2D train with remakes of Dragon Quest I and Dragon Quest II. Those two titles will release on the same platforms as Dragon Quest III HD-2D in 2025, and will be packaged together as a single entity.
About the Author
Contributing Editor, GameDeveloper.com
A Kansas City, MO native, Justin Carter has written for numerous sites including IGN, Polygon, and SyFy Wire. In addition to Game Developer, his writing can be found at io9 over on Gizmodo. Don’t ask him about how much gum he’s had, because the answer will be more than he’s willing to admit.
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