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Final Fantasy XVI
Fans of Final Fantasy have been wondering why it’s been radio silence about Final Fantasy XVI for a long while now, essentially ever since it was teased over a year ago as a PS5 timed exclusive back in September 2020.
Well, now we have an update, and while it’s not exactly great news, it is a very frank conversation about what’s been going on from producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida.
The message apologizes for the fact that Final Fantasy XVI will not end up revealing any new information in 2021 as originally promised.
The reason being is that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed development on the game by half a year, as working with a large team from around the world communicating back and forth with headquarters in Tokyo has been hard. This has led to delays in some areas of the game, and in some cases, actual cancellations of asset deliveries from partners.
They believe they have mostly sorted through these problems in 2021, and that things should be somewhat smoother from here on out. And they are giving a new date for a “big reveal” of Final Fantasy XVI footage and information, Spring 2022, meant to “build excitement leading up to the game’s eventual release.”
All of this makes it sound like it is very, very unlikely that Final Fantasy XVI makes it out in 2022, and would probably be a 2023 game, given these delays. Yoshi-P takes these things very personally, as we last saw him practically in tears on stream when he had to delay Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker by two weeks, but fans have been supportive of letting him do whatever he needs to do in order to ensure the quality of his releases.
Previously, a reveal in 2021 would have indicated a 2022 release, but I think it’s probably best to think of Final Fantasy XVI as a 2023 production going forward, even if that’s not being said outright. It’s certainly something PS5 owners are dying to see and play, and yet 2022 looks to be a strong year for PlayStation regardless with Horizon Forbidden West about to be released and God of War Ragnarok allegedly out this coming holiday (though I have my doubts about that as well).
As for Final Fantasy, the series has been undergoing something of a renaissance thanks to the non-stop positivity surrounding Final Fantasy XIV and its increasingly great expansions. While Final Fantasy XVI is not an MMO, everyone is expecting something stellar, and Yoshi-P certainly knows that. I think it’s a great idea not to show off anything until it’s more polished to avoid Cyberpunk syndrome, and if we have to wait more than a year for the actual release? So be it.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.