Over the weekend, Bandai Namco and FromSoftware, the tandem behind iconic Dark Souls and Elden Ring franchises announced a monumental achievement: Elden Ring has sold an impressive 28.6 million copies. This is no small feat, especially considering the game launched just two years ago in 2022. The expansion, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, released earlier this year, undoubtedly added to the game’s ongoing momentum.
As a long-time fan of Elden Ring, it’s heartening to see how widely this game has been embraced. While Dark Souls is legendary, its unforgiving difficulty has often been a barrier for newcomers. Elden Ring, though still challenging, offers a more accessible experience with its open-world design—though let’s be honest, it can still humble the best of us! Trust me, I know this from experience.
Yet, some are quick to assume that Elden Ring has outpaced the entire Dark Souls franchise in sales. However, the company’s internal data paints a different picture. While Bandai Namco and FromSoftware have occasionally shared Dark Souls public sales figures, they’ve largely been tight-lipped in recent years, leaving fans to speculate and rely on unofficial sources. Fortunately, we don’t have to guess anymore.
The DARK SOULS series has sold over 27 million units to date. We are incredibly grateful to every single one of our players. This success is owed to you.
We hope you continue to enjoy our games, and look forward to Elden Ring, the new Action RPG that's currently in development. pic.twitter.com/697rctd7wZ— FROMSOFTWARE (@fromsoftware_pr) May 19, 2020
In a Bandai Namco Group Fact Book released in 2023, the company confirmed that the Dark Souls series, spanning from the release of Dark Souls in September 2011 to March 2023, has shipped a staggering 35.18 million units. That’s across all titles in the franchise, including Dark Souls Remastered and Dark Souls III.
This report also provides some interesting sales figures for Tekken, the Tales series, Naruto games, and Super Robot War titles.
Update: I’m adding the sales figures for 2021 and 2022 and the reports, just in case people want to see the progression of sales over the past three years.
- 2021 Bandai Namco Group Fact Book – Dark Souls shipped 29.34 million from September 2011 to March 2021.
- 2022 Bandai Namco Group Fact Book – Dark Souls shipped 33.40 million from September 2011 to March 2022.
- 2023 Bandai Namco Group Fact Book – Dark Souls shipped 35.18 million from September 2011 to March 2023.
Looking at the numbers from 2021 to 2022, the series sold an additional 4.06 million units, and then from 2022 to 2023, another 1.78 million. This looks to show that the sales for the series are slowing down. It will be interesting to see the 2024 sales/shipped figures, given that it seems that the Dark Souls series has benefitted some with the release of Elden Ring. Regardless, it doesn’t change that the Dark Souls series sat at 35.18 as of March 2023, and could be much higher. We’ll find out whenever Bandai Namco releases its facebook for 2024.
While Elden Ring’s sales are undeniably impressive, Dark Souls still holds the crown—for now. The factbook, hosted on Bandai Namco’s official Japanese website, also highlights sales figures for other franchises, including Tekken, Super Robot Wars, Tales of, and Naruto. This makes it an invaluable resource for understanding the broader success of Bandai Namco’s iconic franchises. This is great as we can finally see some accurate and official numbers, instead of guessing anymore.
As a devoted Elden Ring fan with thousands of hours across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, I’ve written countless guides and beaten both the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree before release. My love for Elden Ring runs deep, and I eagerly await the release date of the Elden Ring: Nightreign, which was announced during the 2024 The Game Awards. However, it’s crucial to celebrate both franchises’ achievements without diminishing either.
While Elden Ring has quickly cemented its place as one of the most successful games of all time, Dark Souls remains the bedrock of FromSoftware’s success. With Elden Ring closing the gap and potentially surpassing Dark Souls in the future, fans of both series have much to celebrate.
For now, Dark Souls reigns as the best-selling franchise from FromSoftware, but Elden Ring is hot on its heels. Whether you’re a fan of the interconnected worlds of Dark Souls or the sprawling open-world majesty of Elden Ring, one thing is clear: FromSoftware continues to redefine what action RPGs can be.
Let’s see where the numbers stand after Elden Ring: Nightreign releases—if it’s as good as the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring may soon take the crown away from the Dark Souls series, and honestly, there’s been a new king in town for quite some time.
