Before this week, the thought of a Final Fantasy XVI seemed a little far off from us, despite many rumours of the next installment of the storied franchise in the works at Square Enix (Final Fantasy VII Remake notwithstanding). After the PlayStation 5 Showcase, the game’s existence was confirmed, alongside Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida is at the helm of this new project as producer, much to the delight of the Final Fantasy XIV community.
While Yoshida’s direct involvement in FFXVI will be a heavily-anticipated one, given his success story in FFXIV, fans of the latter may be concerned that his work on both games might take a toll on the hugely-popular MMORPG. However, the esteemed game director has personally reassured the community that he and his team have “a lot in store” for both games come 2021.
“How did you enjoy the trailer? The exclusive footage, comprised of both battles and cutscenes running in real-time, represents but a fraction of what our team has accomplished since the start of development on this, an all-new Final Fantasy game,” said Yoshida in a PlayStation blog update. “In that span, the team’s size has grown from a handful of core members to a full-fledged unit that continues to polish and build upon what they have created so far, all to provide players an experience unmatched in terms of story and gameplay.”
“Our next big information reveal is scheduled for 2021, so in the meantime, I expect everyone to have fun speculating, as we have a lot in store—not only for Final Fantasy XVI, but for Final Fantasy XIV, too. Needless to say, I’ll be working hard on both! “
What exactly his plans for FFXIV are remain to be seen, with the MMORPG currently at its third expansion, Shadowbringers. As for FFXVI, it is unclear whether this is the same game that was mysteriously dubbed Project Athia at the previous PS5 announcement back in June. All will be revealed in 2021 it seems.
Naoki Yoshida is joined by fellow FFXIV alum Hiroshi Takai, whose previous works at Square Enix include Final Fantasy XI and The Last Remnant, as the producer and director for Final Fantasy XVI respectively. Joining them as the game’s action-oriented battle director is Ryota Suzuki of Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter World, and Dragon’s Dogma fame back in his days at Capcom.
Though no actual release date was announced yet, Final Fantasy XVI will be a timed-exclusive on the PlayStation 5 when it launches, and will be coming to the PC as well.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
Si Jia
