We finally have a release date for Final Fantasy 16. Here's what we know about the Final Fantasy 16 release date.
Final Fantasy 16 Release Date:June 22, 2023
Final Fantasy 16 will be coming out as a PS5 console exclusive on June 22, 2023. The game is a timed console exclusive to the PS5 and will eventually arrive on the Xbox series of consoles as well as PC. However, an article by PlayStation involving the game's producer Naoki Yoshida that other releases of the game will take “more than six months” to come out.
Final Fantasy 16 is the next game in the long-standing series of RPG titles from Square Enix. The latest game in the series features a very gritty, very mature theme, featuring medieval fantasy kingdoms embroiled in war, using espers, magic, and different kinds of weaponry to do battle.
It's undeniable that Final Fantasy 16 is one of the most highly-anticipated games for the PS5, and it's great that Sony and Square Enix used the June 2022 Sony State of Play to finally reveal the game's release date, along with some cinematics and gameplay footage.
Final Fantasy 16's gameplay features action RPG elements, with a player's health bar and their opponents' clearly shown on the screen. It seems like active gameplay is going to be the way of the future for the Final Fantasy franchise. While that's far from what many Final Fantasy fans grew up with, we're into it as long as the elements and mechanics work well.
A Final Fantasy game will also not be complete without summons. The June 2022 State of Play game trailer featured a lot of them, actually, also heavily suggesting that the Eikons are somehow affiliated one way or another with one of the many kingdoms in the game. Featured Eikons includes Phoenix, Titan, Garuda, Ramuh, Shiva, Odin, Bahamut, and Ifrit – all iconic summons throughout Final Fantasy's long and storied history. Square Enix also posted another video on their socials featuring these espers – called Eikons in Final Fantasy 16, and the power that they hold.
The game itself is set in a fantastical world called Valisthea, where the land is slowly dying as its crystals are fading. It is controlled by six factions called Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Iron Kingdom, and the Crystalline Dominion. All six factions are at war in an effort to “claim the fading light” of the crystals. In this world, Espers are called Eikons, while Summoners are called Dominants. The world is protected by the power of mysterious crystals called Mothercrystals. The player appears to be controlling a character referred to as the Child of Fate, which we don't know much about yet. The main cast includes Clive Rosfield, Joshua Rosfield, and Jill Warrick, scions of powerful families from Rosaria, and most of the gameplay we've seen so far featured Clive.
Square Enix is also laying all of its cards on the table this time around, showing off the powerful names working behind the scenes to make this game possible. Yoshi-P of Final Fantasy 14 fame will be the game's Producer, Kazutoyo Maehiro will be the game's Creative Director, Final Fantasy Tactics' Hiroshi Minagawa as the Art Director, FF14's and FF10's Kazuya Takahashi as the Character Designer, Masayoshi Soken as the Composer, and Hiroshi Takai, of Final Fantasy 5, as the game's Main Director.
So far, Final Fantasy 16 is living up to the hype. The gameplay and cutscene footage that they have released have only added to the hype. Summer of 2023 can't arrive any sooner, and we're sure that many Final Fantasy fans will be itching to finally get to play the game when it comes out on PC and PS5.
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