Less than half a year after its launch, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has sold 5 million copies worldwide.
The newest fighting game in the long-running multimedia franchise released in October 2024 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X|S. It had already sold 3 million copies on its first day of launch, mostly from North America and Europe.
“A huge thanks to our amazing fans for the epic journey,” wrote Bandai Namco and Spike Chunsoft. “We truly appreciate your passion and dedication.”
Sparking was the first new installment in the Dragon Ball Budokai sub-series of fighting games since 2007. According to Circana reporting in November 2024, it’s the best-selling Dragon Ball game in North America and one of Bandai Namco’s best-selling games ever behind the first Dark Souls and Elden Ring.
The game was also one of the first major instalments in the Dragon Ball franchise to release after creator Akira Toriyama’s passing in March 2024.
Dragon Ball can’t stop, won’t stop
How does Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero compare to other recent Dragon Ball titles? Despite its youth, it’s not far off from matching its predecessors’ performance.
Dragon Ball: Kakarot, which released in 2020, had sold 8 million copies, as of July 2024. The game initially launched on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One before eventually heading to Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X | S.
2018’s Dragon Ball FighterZ—the last fighting game in the series—sold 10 million copies by May 2023. A large update then brought the title to PS5 and Xbox Series X | S in February 2024.
According to SteamDB estimates, Sparking! had the best Steam debut of that trio. At launch, it opened to 122,554 concurrent players, well ahead of the respective opens for FighterZ (44,303 players) and Kakarot (25,852 players).
Outside its own series, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero! also joins Mortal Kombat 1 as a member of the 5 million sales club.