Publisher Bandai Namco releases a statement regarding the massive success of Dark Souls 3, announcing the action RPG has already surpassed sales expectations.

The hype swirling around Dark Souls 3 prior to its western launch made it one of the most anticipated arrivals for the series From Software and Bandai Namco had ever experienced. The marketing surrounding the game, which included one of the most intense launch trailers ever produced, helped feed into the burgeoning belief that Dark Souls 3 would be the final and consequently greatest entry into the Dark Souls series ever produced. Gamers everywhere have been singing the praises of Dark Souls 3 post-release, so it's possible that From Software really has made good on the promise of all that carefully calculated hype, delivering a refined and exciting Souls experience for the series' potential finale.

Yet the merit of a game doesn't always translate into big sales, and Dark Souls 3 is such a punishing action RPG that its renowned difficulty could turn off some potential buyers. Concerns over the possibility that Dark Souls 3 couldn't break out of the mold of a niche hit were quickly laid to rest this week, however, as Bandai Namco announced that the game had enjoyed a record-breaking debut. Bandai Namco also released a new trailer video for the game, as seen below.

[HTML1]

According to Bandai Namco, the From Software-developed RPG had the most successful launch day ever in the publisher's storied history, while also achieving the honor of becoming the fastest-selling game ever for the company as well. The publisher summed up Dark Souls 3's success as seeing "incredibly strong" first-week sales, a statement that may well be a huge understatement once actual sales figures for the game are released. The news release from Bandai Namco didn't have specific sales numbers, but it appears that Dark Souls 3 has found the right blend of difficulty and entertainment to appeal to a wider number of gamers than its predecessors.

Part of that success is likely owed to Bloodborne, another From Software title that was developed to be a riskier blend of the gameplay mechanics featured in the Souls series in an attempt to appeal to less hardcore action RPG fans. Bloodborne was a smash hit success, and did a lot of work in creating a gaming environment that would be even more receptive to a game like Dark Souls 3 than it would have been a few years earlier.

While it's important to see what Bandai Namco's definition of an "incredibly strong" release actually translates to in terms of numbers, there's no doubt that Dark Souls 3 is one of the strongest releases the franchise has ever seen. If Dark Souls 3 really is the last entry in the series, it's going out in the most fitting way possible, as a combination of incredibly frustrating enemies and deep, rewarding gameplay mechanics has created yet another success story for From Software and Bandai Namco.

If you want to play Dark Souls 3, make sure to enter our Dark Souls 3 contest, where we are giving away two free PC keys everyday!

Have you been playing Dark Souls 3? Does the news that it's Bandai Namco's best-selling game of all time surprise you? Let us know in the comments.

Dark Souls 3 is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Source: Gematsu