Square Enix has a track record for taking their time making and releasing games. Some would say the developer is somewhat unreliable when it comes to new video games especially in the Final Fantasy series. For example, Final Fantasy XIII announced in 2006 underwent a few makeovers and delays before releasing in 2010. FF XV which was originally announced as Versus XIII in 2006 and after more than ten years, SE rebranded the game as XV and released it in 2016. However, the recently announced Final Fantasy XVI is going to be a different situation. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the game has been in development for over 4 years and is set to launch sooner than we think.
READ MORE Genshin Impact is an Open World Free-to-Play RPG Now Available on PS4, iOS and Android
In the latest Triple Click podcast, Jason shared some insider news about the game being in development for a while already. He also claims it will release much sooner than everyone thinks. This backs up previous reports from the studio. Apparently, back in 2015, SE shifted staff to Final Fantasy XVI after the release of the Heavensward expansion. This is when development for the new game began.
This means Final Fantasy XVI has been in development for some time now and if anything, it could release by the end of 2022. That would give the game seven years of development – an average time frame at Square Enix for a new Final Fantasy game.
Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XVI during the PS5 Showcase event last month. In addition, it is releasing only on PS5 at first with a PC release date pegged for sometime in the future. We don’t know what the plan is for the game’s release on the Xbox Series X and S yet. However, there’s always a good chance of it making its way to the console a year or so after PlayStation.
Rewatch the trailer in all its glory down below;
