Summary
Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Timehas surpassed 500,000 sales, Level-5 has announced. WhileFantasy Life istill has ways to go to match the studio’s most successful titles, it’s already looking like a big hit in its own right.
The latest title fromProfessor Laytondeveloper Level-5 is a genre hybrid that combines JRPG and life sim elements. While its 2014 predecessor was a 3DS exclusive,Fantasy Life iended up launching on a variety of platforms, ranging from the Switch and PC to the latest two generations of PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Initially planned for an October 2024 release, the game was later delayed and eventually hit the market this Wednesday, May 21.
The newly launched RPG is already looking like a big hit, having managed to surpass 500,000 sales. The figure comes directly from Level-5, who confirmed it in a May 24 social media post. The Japanese developer commemorated the milestone with a new illustration, in addition to noting that “this is just the beginning.” The comment was ostensibly referring to the recent announcement offree DLC forFantasy Life i, which will introduce new recipes and some multiplayer gear. Titled “Update the World,” the content drop was officially described as the developer’s response to the game’s early global success. Level-5 has yet to clarify when exactly the free DLC pack is planned to arrive.
Fantasy Life i On Course To Outsell Its Predecessor
Regarding the game’s current momentum, 500,000 sales already putsFantasy Life iat nearly half the lifetime sales of its predecessor. According to the 2023 CESA Games White Papers, the originalFantasy Lifesold 1.11 million copies as of December 2022, which places it in the top 60best-selling 3DS gamesof all time. In addition to the increased brand awareness typically enjoyed by sequels, two other factors may be contributing toFantasy Life icurrently being on course to outsell its predecessor. First, this is a full-fledged multi-platform release rather than a platform exclusive. Secondly,Fantasy Life iwas treated to a day-one international release, whereas the original title took nearly two years to reach Western markets following its Japanese debut in December 2012.
Apart from free DLC, Level-5 is currently also working on minor updates geared toward refining the game. One such release has already rolled out on May 22,introducingFantasy Life imultiplayer improvements, including support for quest completion notifications and a working quest progress count, which was bugged in the initial version of the game. Identified by version number 1.1.4, the update is currently available on PlayStation consoles and PC, whereas Switch and Xbox users are scheduled to receive it on May 29.
