BODY: Japanese RPG fans hunting for backlog bargains just got an early summer gift. Square Enix kicked off its annual "May Sale" on May 13, offering steep discounts across PlayStation Store, Nintendo eShop, and the My Nintendo Store through 11:59 PM on May 27.
The headline deal is the Octopath Traveler bundle at 50% off, packaging both entries in the HD-2D RPG series that has quietly become one of Square Enix's most beloved modern franchises. The original 2018 release and its 2023 sequel earned acclaim for their painterly visuals and branching character stories โ and at half price, the bundle is one of the easier entry points into the studio's experimental side.
Even more aggressive is the 60% discount on Final Fantasy XVI Complete Edition, which includes both the "Echoes of the Fallen" and "The Rising Tide" DLC expansions. Released in mid-2023, FFXVI marked the series' boldest pivot toward real-time action combat, with director Hiroshi Takai and producer Naoki Yoshida steering the project. The Complete Edition discount applies on both PlayStation Store and PC storefronts.
Additional markdowns reportedly span much of Square Enix's recent catalog, including Dragon Quest, Star Ocean, and various Kingdom Hearts compilations โ making this one of the broader publisher-wide sales since the spring shopping season began.
The insider take
May has quietly become Square Enix's most aggressive promotional window in Japan, sandwiched between Golden Week consumer spending and the lull before summer Bonus Sales in July. Insiders here read the depth of the FFXVI markdown โ 60% on a not-yet-two-year-old flagship โ as a clear signal the company is pivoting attention toward the rumored Final Fantasy XVII pipeline and the long-anticipated FFVII Remake trilogy finale. Domestic outlets like GAME Watch tend to flag these sales prominently because Japanese players, unlike Western audiences, rarely see Square Enix titles discounted this aggressively outside of structured campaign windows.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).