Square Enix provided a first look at Final Fantasy XVI during today’s PlayStation showcase. It’s coming to PlayStation 5 and PC.
Few confirmed details were provided, but there was a lot of serious-sounding dialogue about crystals and a plethora of giant monsters. The story appears to take place over several decades, following the main character as he grows from boy to man.
While not running on actual hardware, the Final Fantasy XVI footage came from a “PC emulating the PlayStation 5 experience.” Development is being handled by Creative Business Unit III, the Naoki Yoshida-led team responsible for Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XIV, and the Dragon Quest Builders series.
Square Enix has noted that this is a single-player game despite the development studio’s prior focus on MMORPGs.
Update—7:45 p.m. ET 09/16/2020: After this story’s initial publication a Square Enix spokesperson reached out to Kotaku, saying that “Square Enix only announced that Final Fantasy XVI is coming to PlayStation 5.”
When Kotaku pointed out that the PlayStation 5 showcase trailer includes explicit messaging supporting the existence a PC release (pictured below), the spokesperson responded with this statement: “We have no further information on if Final Fantasy XVI will be released on platforms other than the PS5.”
There’s a clear discrepancy in the messaging between the version of the trailer shown during the PlayStation broadcast and the one now appearing on various official channels. While the live reveal explicitly mentioned a PC version, the uploaded trailer excludes that detail, with just a brief mention during an ending stinger that Final Fantasy XVI won’t be available “on other platforms for a limited time after release on PS5.”