Final Fantasy 16The next main installment in Square Enix’s acclaimed Japanese role-playing game franchise will be released on June 22, 2023 for PlayStation 5, the publisher announced Thursday at The Game Awards 2022.
Square Enix and Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida also brought with them a new trailertitled “Revenge,” filled with action, intrigue, and (of course) giant monster summons.
Final Fantasy 16 takes place in the medieval setting of Valisthea, against a backdrop of wars of nations and political intrigues. Contrary to Final Fantasy 15, this game will not be an open-world adventure with AI-controlled companions. It follows the story of two brothers: Clive Rosfield, a young warrior known as the “First Shield of Rosaria”, and his younger brother Joshua, a person known as “The Dominant of the Phoenix”.
Previous trailers have suggested that Final Fantasy 16 will feature franchise-typical touchstones like giant powerful crystals, summons (known as Eikons), and numerous chocobos. The game sports a real-time “action-based” combat system where it looks like we’ll wield a variety of weapons and magical powers, and even fight kaiju-esque battles as Eikons themselves.
Final Fantasy 16 is developed in-house at Square Enix by the Creative Business Unit 3 team. Yoshida (aka “Yoshi P”), known for his work on the popular MMO Final Fantasy 14also serves as producer on this game.
Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy 16 will launch exclusively on the PlayStation 5 console and remain exclusive for six months, but it’s not yet clear what that means for the Windows PC and Xbox platforms.
