Of course, there are some who wonder if Returnal could actually “overcome” its small nature and perhaps even become the next great PlayStation franchise. Maybe that’s why more people than usual seem to be focused on the game’s sales. After all, it’s hard for a game to become a franchise if it doesn’t sell well, just as it’s hard for developers to stay in the spotlight if their biggest releases don’t do well. Just ask a passionate former member of the Days Gone team how that process tends to play out. So how is Returnal selling so far? Well, the numbers are incomplete, to say the least, but the UK sales that have been reported so far show that Returnal was the second best-selling game in that region for the week ending on May 1 (it only trailed New Pokémon Snap). Considering that Returnal was released on April 30th, wasn’t heavily marketed, and that these numbers only account for physical purchases, you would probably think that means the game has gotten off to a strong overall sales start. While Returnal‘s early sales figures may indeed be at or above internal expectations, it’s worth noting that some analysts are worried by some of the trends Returnal‘s debut has bucked in a potentially negative way. Namely, Returnal hasn’t shot up the UK sales charts quite as fast as other PlayStation exclusives have done in the past. Yet, a quick look at the initial UK sales for PS5 launch games shows that multiple titles got off to a relatively strong sales start despite the initial PS5 shortages and the lockdown restrictions which undoubtedly negatively impacted physical sales. No PS5 title topped the charts initially, but Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls both enjoyed pretty strong debuts given the incredible circumstances. More importantly, sales of both games (especially Miles Morales) remained strong as the PS5 became more widely available and as the natural progress of time allowed more people to buy and play those games. That, along with the recent report that the PS5 is selling incredibly well despite unprecedented obstacles, would tend to suggest that a PS5 game can be a best seller in its debut week and thereafter. To put it another way, if Spider-Man: Miles Morales had been released a little later when more people had a PS5, it could have possibly topped the sales charts in its debut week. So why didn’t Returnal? Well, Returnal isn’t an established franchise based on a major property like Miles Morales was, and it has to be said that New Pokémon Snap is the long-awaited follow-up to a cult classic entry into one of the most popular video game franchises ever. Its high-profile status and the fact that it was released on the historically successful Nintendo Switch means that it was always going to be hard to beat in its debut week. Switch games also tend to perform well in terms of physical game sales, so that’s another factor you’ve got to consider in this instance. If anything, though, all of those factors go to show why you can’t attribute every potential Returnal sales anomaly to the fact that the PS5 lags behind the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch in terms of availability. It matters that the PS5 isn’t widely available, but the fate of Returnal can’t begin and end with that asterisk. More importantly, some are hoping that Returnal breaks through every barrier in its way and becomes an undeniable sales success not just due to their love for the game but their hopes that strong initial sales could inspire the PlayStation team to support smaller projects, stranger ideas, and the kind of games that some worry they may gradually veer away from as the changing nature of the video game industry seemingly makes blockbusters more important than ever. Of course, as we saw with other PS5 games, there’s a very good chance Returnal‘s sales will pick up in the weeks that follow. For that matter, it’s important to say again that these limited sales figures that certainly don’t paint the full picture. Yet, if Returnal ends up struggling a bit in the following weeks as the majority of roughly 8 million PS5 owners elect to pass on the game (at least for now), then it is going to be interesting to see how the title’s sales figures influence the conversation about $70 games, the current viability of Triple-A next-gen releases, how much scalpers are impacting PS5 game performance, the future of funding for niche ideas, and, of course, the future of Returnal and its developer’s next project.
