A new social media promo video for the PlayStation 5 has revealed the timing of the exclusivity deal between Sony and Square Enix for Final Fantasy 16, revealing that the greatly anticipated upcoming RPG will be exclusive to Sony’s latest hardware for at least six months.
Posted on the official PlayStation Twitter account, the ad is pretty explicit as it features footage of FF16 in action with accompanying text at the bottom of the screen that reads: “Final Fantasy XVI expected summer 2023. PS5 exclusive for six months.” This text reveals the exact timing of the exclusivity deal between Sony and Square Enix. Although that doesn’t mean FF16 will immediately appear on other platforms after six months, as seen with some other recent Square Enix exclusives.
FF16’s platform status has also seemed a little curious since its announcement. The initial reveal trailer aired on the PlayStation State of Play stream included disclaimer text declaring that the version of the game shown in the trailer was running on a PC with specs similar to the PS5, as well as a description of the game as “PlayStation Console Exclusive” but “also available on PC.” However, the separately uploaded versions of this trailer removed that statement. Square Enix also stated they have no further information on the release of FF16 for any platform other than PS5.
In a recent interview, the game’s producer Naoki Yoshida stated that the game’s release date would be announced later this year. Yoshida also claimed that the game is approaching the final development stages. In a separate statement, game director Hiroshi Takai said that as the game nears completion, the team has turned its full attention to tuning and finishing touches. Now that things are starting to come together, the game is sizing to be something special.
Based on Square Enix and Sony’s recent exclusivity tie-ups, the game will likely come to PC at least six months after the PlayStation release. In the case of the Steam release of NEO TWEWY, the game came to the platform almost immediately. There’s also every reason for it to come to Xbox, as the last two major Final Fantasy titles have come to Xbox, along with Kingdom Hearts 3 and several ports and remaster by Square. Only FF7 Remake seems to have skipped the Xbox entirely.
