SoulCalibur VI Sales Could Determine Series’ Future

It has been a while since we’ve seen a mainline SoulCalibur title, and if SoulCalibur VI isn’t successful, it could spell doom for the series.

In an interview with DualShockers at gamescom, series Producer Motohiro Okubo explains that 2012’s SoulCalibur V, which was released on PS3 and Xbox 360, didn’t meet Bandai Namco’s sales expectations. Okubo apparently had to convince the publisher to give the series another shot, which explains the 6-year gap between releases.

DualShockers asked Okubo if the series could end with SoulCalibur VI if it isn’t successful, and he replied by saying “Yeah, that’s right.” At the same time, though, Okubo doesn’t want to “blackmail the users by saying that it could be the last one.”

We’ll obviously have to wait and see if players are receptive to SoulCalibur VI, but there are some reasons for optimism. The Witcher series’ Geralt will appear as guest character in the game, and that may help drive some sales on its own. It will also include a reversal system to make the game more accessible to casual players, who will be critical to the game’s commercial success.

There is a major reason for concern as well, however. The game is coming out in October, which is going to be a very busy month for video game releases. With blockbusters like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Battlefield V all releasing earlier in the month, gamers’ budgets may be too strained to pick up SoulCalibur VI. And, of course, we can’t forget that a lot of people will be saving their money for the October 26th release of Red Dead Redemption II, a title that many other publishers are actively trying to avoid.

SoulCalibur VI releases on October 19th for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.