Final fantasy 16 release date: Final Fantasy 16 Might Have Chosen Its Release Date Poorly

Final Fantasy 16 Might Have Chosen Its Release Date Poorly

By
Gozie Ibekwe

Fellow RPG Diablo 4 has its release date just two weeks before Final Fantasy 16, and the close window could spell trouble for Square Enix.

The year has come for Final Fantasy, Square Enix’s flagship franchise, to add another installment to its impressively long list of titles. Fans have been waiting for Final Fantasy 16 for a long time, and after a series of production hitches and delays, Square Enix has given an official release date for the highly anticipated action RPG. Selecting a release date can be difficult, and even industry giants like Square Enix are not exempt from the permutations that come with every new addition. Publishers need to find a window of peak interest for their product to bathe in the limelight of media attention, and with the release date of Diablo 4 so close to that of Final Fantasy 16, the eagerly awaited title might have chosen its window poorly.

Gaming release schedules are a tricky thing to navigate for even the most experienced publishers in the business. Seemingly random factors like matching a horror game’s release with Halloween and anniversary dates are always in play, so the scope of release dates is ever-changing as publishers look for ways to boost their games’ publicity. This effort can result in games being delayed, like how The Day Before‘s release date was pushed back recently. Square Enix appears confident in Final Fantasy 16‘s hype, however, taking no such measures with its release and placing it only two weeks after that of Diablo 4.

RELATED: Every New Final Fantasy Game And Update Currently In Development

Final Fantasy 16’s Protagonist and New Features Bring a Fresh Spin

Square Enix has a lot of reasons to be brazenly confident about itself. Final Fantasy 16 comes nearly seven years after the last edition and that alone should generate sufficient hype for the newest entry. With the prospect of the new protagonist, countries, and the Valisthea universe as a whole, gamers have enough material to keep them fixated on the Final Fantasy franchise. Final Fantasy 16 intends to explore the medieval world similar to Game of Thrones‘ Westeros, employing Gothic-styled architecture and old-fashioned knights.

Clive Rosfield promises to be a compelling and layered protagonist, with Square Enix giving players control over the character in his teens, twenties, and thirties. It’s not often gamers get to witness a character’s story from its early years, and players can expect to experience several key events in Valisthea through the lens of Clive. Additionally, Final Fantasy 16 is set to play a pioneering role for the franchise, as it becomes the first Final Fantasy title to receive the M for Mature rating in North America.

Square Enix’s host of changes to traditional Final Fantasy features is unsurprising, as the developer attempts to restore some of its lost luster with a release that is in vogue with the times. While the new additions are exciting, Square Enix would have been better off selecting a different release date to prevent a window clash with Diablo 4, which is sure to grab the attention of the RPG audience when it drops. Diablo 4 has been more than a decade in the making, and if reported features are anything to go by, it could be one of the more successful releases of 2023.

RELATED: How the Classic Classes Seem to Be Manifesting in Final Fantasy 16

Diablo 4’s Release Date Could Spell Trouble For Final Fantasy 16

It’s only fitting that a well-loved franchise returns with a bang after a long silence, and developer Blizzard has put the building blocks in place for Diablo 4 to do just that. Most notably, Diablo 4 will let players choose if they want to follow the story mode or dive headfirst into the open world activities. There has been growing sentiment that open world games don’t always need main narrative campaigns, and the latest entry to the Diablo franchise will be one of the first to test this notion.

Diablo 4 takes place after the events of Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls and is bringing a new villain to the franchise. Cultists loyal to Mephisto have brought his daughter, Lilith, back to the mortal realm. Diablo players are not unfamiliar with Lilith, as the Daughter of Hatred has played a significant role as the creator of Sanctuary in the franchise’s lore. Despite her influential contributions, Lilith has been on the back burner for much of the Diablo series, but Blizzard decided to make the Daughter of Hatred the antagonist here. Gamers got the first glimpse of Lilith in Diablo 4‘s cinematic trailer reveal, and the improved graphics add to her macabre aesthetic.

Details about Diablo 4‘s storyline have not been particularly forthcoming, as Blizzard keeps its cards close to its chest ahead of the highly anticipated release. However, inferences can be drawn from the fact that Diablo 4 is a sequel, as Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls had a few loose ends such as the Prime and Lesser Evils gaining their freedom. Each new entry to the Diablo series has added a notable story element, so Diablo 4 can be expected to pick up the ropes from Reaper of Souls and add unique narrative directions. With the new villain, the latest installment should have little trouble generating fresh content for fans.

With so many improvements slated to grace the Diablo franchise in terms of graphics and gameplay, as well as the return of several fan-favorite characters, Diablo 4 has good cause to grab fan attention in the RPG category for a solid timeframe. Final Fantasy 16, despite being a new addition to a popular franchise, will have a ton of media work to do to ensure successful numbers at launch because of the stiff competition. While the release window might make things a bit more complicated for Square Enix, the buffed-up content featured in Final Fantasy 16 should get the publisher over the line.

Final Fantasy 16 will be released on June 22, 2023, for PS5.

MORE: What to Expect From the Final Fantasy Franchise in 2023

Will Final Fantasy 16 Come To Xbox, Switch, & PC?

By
Lee D’Amato

Final Fantasy 16’s release date has been confirmed for PS5, but whether it’ll come out for consoles like Xbox, Switch, or PC remains to be seen.

Final Fantasy 16 is due to be released for PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023, but when it will arrive on PC, Switch, or Xbox isn’t yet clear. Final Fantasy 16 was originally announced as a timed exclusive for PS5, meaning that other consoles’ releases would supposedly be revealed for a later date. Square Enix has used a similar strategy before: Final Fantasy 15 came out for PS4 and Xbox One in 2016, and a PC release followed two years later.

No actual release dates for Final Fantasy 16 on other platforms have been confirmed, but official Microsoft documents, offhand comments by some Final Fantasy 16 developers, and fine print in some of the game’s trailers provide an idea of just how long Final Fantasy 16 will remain a PS5 exclusive.

Related: Final Fantasy 16 Is Repeating FF15’s Mistakes

Final Fantasy 16 May Not Be Coming To Xbox

Details about FF16‘s Xbox release have been revealed in connection to Microsoft’s attempt to buy Activision Blizzard. Regulatory agencies have attempted to block the acquisition, claiming it would give Microsoft too large a share of the market. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority issued a statement to that effect. Microsoft’s official response claims Sony has made similar exclusivity agreements with developers. The reply lists examples, including Final Fantasy 16. Whether this refers to permanent exclusivity isn’t clear, but as it’s listed adjacent to games that don’t have plans to release on Xbox (Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Silent Hill 2‘s remaster, and Bloodborne), it appears there’s little possibility of an Xbox release date for Final Fantasy 16.

There Seem To Be No Plans For Final Fantasy 16 On Switch

Final Fantasy 16 is built for the beefier hardware of the PS5, and likely wouldn’t hold up on Switch. However, that doesn’t mean a Switch version is completely out of the question. Square Enix has published Switch versions of some of its more resource-demanding games by using a cloud service. However, it’s not a perfect system. Some players have complained of input lag or choppy visuals, which could be detrimental to the action gameplay of Final Fantasy 16. Plus, cloud games require constant Internet connectivity, so they can’t be taken on the go. While it’s possible that there’ll be a cloud version, at the moment there seems to be no intention to release Final Fantasy 16 on the Switch.

Final Fantasy 16 May Be Coming To PC In Early 2024

Final Fantasy 16’s biggest mystery is its PC release date. The 2020 reveal trailer unveiled by PlayStation displayed the fine print, «Also available on PC.» The Revenge trailer for FF16, which came out in December 2022, states that the game will remain a PS5 exclusive until December 31, 2023. However, during a Final Fantasy 14 Mahjong livestream (spotted by @aitaikimochi), producer Naoki «Yoshi-P» Yoshida refuted the idea that the PC version will come out in December 2023. It would seem that while Final Fantasy 16‘s exclusivity deal with PlayStation expires in December 2023, the PC release might take more time. Hopefully, that means an early 2024 release for Final Fantasy 16‘s PC port.

While PS5 owners will be able to begin exploring the world of Valisthea as they play Final Fantasy 16 for the first time on June 22, 2023, it looks like PC players will have to wait a little longer. Although there are no plans at present for Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox or Switch, anything’s possible after exclusivity expires at the end of 2023.

More: FF16 Eikons We’d Love To See From Previous Final Fantasy Games

Sources: GOV.UK, PlayStation/YouTube, ☆オードリーAudrey☆/Twitter

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About The Author

Lee D’Amato is a writer born, raised, and based in Queens, New York. He’s been writing since he could hold a crayon, and has been freelancing since 2020. Lee has covered a wide range of topics, including ancient history, affordable travel, and most recently game features for Screen Rant. When writing about games, he particularly enjoys exploring obscure lore or trying to understand why game mechanics work the way they do. He likes just about all games, although he’s got a soft spot for old school RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest. At the moment, he’s probably glued to a dialogue-heavy RPG, an intricate strategy game, or the rule book of his latest and greatest tabletop campaign. Some of his all-time favorites are Final Fantasy VI, The Silver Case, and Fallout: New Vegas. If he’s not reading, writing, or researching, you might find him in the kitchen whipping up something spicy.

Final Fantasy XVI releases June 22, 2023 exclusively on PlayStation 5 — new trailer and screenshots

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During the The Game Awards 2022 , Square Enix confirmed that Final Fantasy XVI will release on June 22, 2023 . Pre-orders will be open from today .

The developers showed a new trailer with footage of travel around the world and fragments of epic battles. nine0023 According to the videos, the game will remain a PlayStation 5 exclusive until at least December 31, 2023 .

English trailer :

Japanese trailer :

In the trailer, the protagonist Clive is seen for the first time in the company of party members. Previously, the developers said that the story focuses primarily on the protagonist, but comrades, including female characters, will periodically join him. nine0003

«Clive’s story is built around various twists and turns of fate. On meeting companions. On forming relationships. And on the development that Clive goes through with the help of those very relationships. Not a single hero of the franchise has ever achieved success without the help of allies, so Clive will not have to — he is not alone.

At the same time, we tried to make the companions not just extras, working solely as tools to advance the plot. Each of them has their own past, personal motives — time is given to all this. We can especially note one of the heroines. This is a strong but vulnerable personality. Brave but full of doubts. Her relationship with Clive resonates throughout his entire narrative arc.»

Key art of the game :

New screenshots During the passage of the story, players will witness numerous bloody scenes, episodes of torture, sex and even prostitution.

Read also: A new adventure from the creators of Final Fantasy XV begins: Forspoken demo for PlayStation 5 is out on PS Store .

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Final Fantasy XVI (Final Fantasy 16) release date on PC and PS5 in Russia and worldwide

Final Fantasy XVI (Final Fantasy 16) release date on PC and PS5 in Russia and worldwide