Final Fantasy 16 in "latest stage of development" - fans have their doubts
Created: 05/03/2022, 12:42 p.m
By: Joost Rademacher
According to producer Naoki Yoshida, Final Fantasy 16 is said to be almost finished.
Fans have some doubts about an early release.
Tokyo – It's not easy to be a Final Fantasy fan right now.
It's been almost six years since the last installment in the series was released, and while Final Fantasy 16 has already been announced, there has long been no sign of the PS5-exclusive game.
As late as 2021, producer Naoki Yoshida promised that new information about FF16 would come in spring 2022.
Meanwhile, May has arrived and Square Enix is still silent.
Still, Yoshida now insists the game is almost done - but some fans don't want to trust the roast.
release | TBA |
Publishers | Square Enix |
developer | Creative Business Unit III |
series | final fantasy |
platform | PS5, PC |
genre | role playing game |
Final Fantasy 16: Producer raises hopes for new material with statement on development status
Where does the information come from?
Final Fantasy is about to reach a milestone as a series that only very few major franchises can claim for themselves.
December 18th marks the 35th anniversary of the release of the first Final Fantasy - a birthday that only Super Mario celebrated in 2021.
To mark the occasion, there will be an exclusive clothing line between Square Enix and the fashion chain UNIQLO.
In a prospectus for the cooperation, Naoki Yoshida spoke up and shared surprisingly new information about Final Fantasy 16.
What exactly is Yoshida saying?
Yoshida's lyrics are in Japanese, of course, but observant fans have already translated his statements.
The prospectus states: “
We are in the final stages of development on the next numbered game in the series, Final Fantasy 16. Our goal is to deliver a rich game full of story and gameplay.
The producer goes on to say that the studio hopes to spark a new passion for the game among veteran fans of the series.
He did not give any new indications of an upcoming trailer or even real gameplay.
Final Fantasy 16: Is the game still coming in 2022?
Fans are divided over release
How are the fans reacting?
For die-hard fans of Final Fantasy, the small amount of information from Naoki Yokshida should hardly be enough.
After all, they have been waiting for a greater insight into Final Fantasy 16 for some time. Square Enix had also promised this for spring 2022 after it became known that the release of Final Fantasy 16 would be delayed.
"
It doesn't mean anything until we know how much time [Square Enix] is planning to do this,
" writes u/SageWaterDragon in the Final Fantasy 16 subreddit, for example.
So the actual release timeline of Final Fantasy 16 is still up in the air and it remains uncertain whether there will be any more information by the end of spring.
u/FrogBoy8807 goes on to say that the last phase of development could easily take another year.
Accordingly, some fans are gradually losing hope of a release in 2022.
Instead, they have their eyes hopefully on 2023, which is also where GTA 6 leaks could appear.
Final Fantasy 16 in "latest stages of development" - fans have their doubts © Square Enix
Nevertheless, a release of Final Fantasy 16 this year is not out of the question.
According to Square Enix, the story and all voice-overs ended in mid-2021, and since the "final phase" of development often includes optimization and bug fixes, Final Fantasy 16 could already be fully playable.
As a result, some more hopeful Final Fantasy fans believe that either Summer Game Fest or a future Sony State of Play will reveal new footage and a release date for Final Fantasy 16.