This information became widespread only after the Japanese theater troupe Takarazuka Revue, which is currently preparing a musical based on Final Fantasy XVI, casually mentioned it.
But in fact, the information became widely available much earlier. Back on June 23, Square Enix mentioned this as part of a press release dedicated to the appointment of new directors. However, at that moment, no one paid attention to the figure.
As for the achievement itself, the last time before that, the publisher reported on the success of the series in October last year. Then Square Enix reported that the total shipments and digital sales of the franchise reached 173 million.
This means that the Japanese giant managed to sell an additional seven million copies in eight months. At least three million of them accounted for the Final Fantasy XVI released this June (this was reported a little less than two weeks ago).
Recall that the first Final Fantasy was released in December 1987. In total, 96 games have been released under the brand of the series for different platforms and in different genres, including remakes and restarts. Numbered parts have now been released 16 pieces.