Rumours of a new main-line Final Fantasy have been swirling for a while now, and with the advent of a new generation of consoles, the time appears rife.
Square Enix have clearly agreed, as the announcement of Final Fantasy XVI opened up Sony's PlayStation 5 Showcase last night.
A new direction for Final Fantasy
The trailer reveals a fantasy medieval style, and draws heavily from Final Fantasy XIV Online.
This is no coincidence, since it was later confirmed that Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida, XIV's director, will produce the new title alongside new director Hiroshi Takai. A stablemate of Yoshida on XIV, Takai also worked on the beloved Final Fantasy IX, and The Last Remnant.
Joining the pair is battle director Ryota Suzuki, who is best known for his work at Capcom on Devil May Cry 5, Monster Hunter World, and Dragon's Dogma.
This hire suggests that Final Fantasy XVI will be an action-oriented RPG, more in line with Final Fantasy XV and Final Fantasy VII Remake. The Awakening trailer suggests as much, with sequences that look straight out of Prince Noctis' playbook.
Yoshida will continue to work on Final Fantasy XIV alongside his duties on XVI.
Confusion reigns over console exclusivity
The Final Fantasy XVI trailer ended with a card stating the game was 'console exclusive' to PlayStation 5 — meaning no simultaneous Xbox release — but with a caveat that it would come to PC too.
However, Sony quickly took down the trailer and replaced it with one without the PC availability mentioned, while IGN were asked by Square Enix to remove their mention of a PC version.
According to industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, Final Fantasy XVI will be a timed console exclusive, as we have seen for games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake.
It will be PS5-only for the first six months, with Square Enix then being able to decide when a potential PC release will happen. A release for other consoles (namely the Xbox Series X/S) can happen a further six months down the line.
While producing yet another gorgeous-looking trailer, a lot of community reaction seems to be centred on the fact that Yoshida is involved.
The producer has reinvigorated Final Fantasy XIV since it was reworked into A Realm Reborn and has continued its impressive growth through three further expansions, leading Square Enix to proudly declare it had surpassed 20 million players earlier this summer.
He had also previously denied rumours of his involvement in Final Fantasy XVI as 'fake news'.
During a recent Premiere Stream, Naoki Yoshida denied ongoing rumours that he is to head up a possible FFXVI.
