It looks the Final Fantasy franchise is returning to a medieval setting, as we got our first look at Final Fantasy XVI during today’s PlayStation 5 Showcase event.
Final Fantasy XVI’s development will be spearheaded by Naoki Yoshida (Producer) and Hiroshi Takai (Director), and a new trailer laid out their vision for the game.
From the brief glimpse we got, it appears that players will protect a young prince from spies and monsters… and himself. A variety of traditional Final Fantasy ingredients (elemental magic, crystals, Chocobos) will be present in these warring kingdoms, and certain humans will be able to summon towering beasts (known as Icons) in battle.
Takai and Yoshida said that further information about the game will be unveiled in 2021.
Square Enix chose not to announce a release date for Final Fantasy XVI at this time, but the publisher confirmed the game will be available for the PS5 for a “limited time” before it eventually makes its way to other platforms. Obviously, we weren’t told what these platforms would be, but a PC and/or Xbox Series X launch for the game appears to be only a matter of time.
