BY AMIT BARAN ROY | There is no doubt that Square Enix has gone through a rough patch in the last few years. This is a direct consequence of the not so successful AAA flagships like Hitman 2016 and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Earlier this year, the publisher had to let go the partnership with developer IO Interactive as Hitman’s episodic content didn’t work out too well. Even the Deux Ex franchise has been put on hold after the disappointing sales of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. What’s more, fans may not see the fifth Thief game soon as developer Montreal Studios had once humorously tweeted that they are short of budget and resources.

There were rumors that even Tomb Raider franchise struggled in terms of their sales. But in response to these misunderstandings, Square Enix President Yosuke Matsuda stepped forward to present some interesting facts about their Western Business. While speaking to GamesIndustry, he said that Tomb Raider 2013 is an important title and is currently, one of the most important IP for Square Enix in market. Though they over estimated their sales, but Tomb Raider 2013 has sold more than 11 million units worldwide. It had shifted 3.5 million copies in its first month of release. What’s more interesting is almost 50% of the sales are from PC. This is confirmed by SteamSpy’s data which shows almost 5 million copies are sold on Steam. Tomb Raider 2013 is available on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4 and Xbox One. It is currently having a 10 out of 10 rating on Steam.

Not only this, even the 2015 sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider has managed to sell around 7 million units. This is after when the PS4 version of the game was not available in the first year of release. SteamSpy reports that PC has accounted for 2 million of the sold units which is nearly 30%. This number is even higher as compared to the number of units sold. Rise of the Tomb Raider is available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Bottomline is Tomb Raider PC sales have really been good with the 2013 version of the game breaking the franchise’s previous records of first day and first month sales. Crystal Dynamics studio head had once said that “Tomb Raider ignited and expanded the fan base, pushing the series to a new level, The game's incredible sales success reflects the passionate response of players." AlThough Matsuda has said that the sales were not as much as anticipated. He says, "Our earnings were not very good before Tomb Raider came out so we had very high expectations. Looking back, I think the target we set for ourselves was extremely high". But we feel such sale numbers shows enough of a success and it is due to this that Tomb Raider 2013 earned its sequel in 2015. Both the games are doing well on Steam with high number of positive reviews.