Final Fantasy XVI Reaches the Final Stage of Its Development

It's been a while since we heard from Final Fantasy XVI. But producer Naoki Yoshida gives us an update…

“We're in the final stages of development…”

Recently, Square Enix collaborated with Japanese clothing brand UNIQLO for the 35th anniversary of Final Fantasy. For 16 unique shirt designs, inspired by the mainline Final Fantasy titles. The 16th one hasn't even been released yet, and while it had been in development for quite some time now. There is scarcely anything we know about it. In the most improbable of places, a pamphlet that came with one of the shirts. Producer Naoki Yoshida had some choice words for fans:

“We're in the final stages of development for the new numbered game in the series, Final Fantasy XVI. We aim to deliver a comprehensive game full of story and gameplay. Unlike an online game that involves many players at the same time, FFXVI offers a different experience where it focuses on the individual player and immerses you in the story. I think it's a very fleshed out story. For those who have grown up and realized that reality isn't kind to you and have drifted away from Final Fantasy, we hope that FFXVI will be a game that can bring back anew the passion that you once had for the series.” -Final Fantasy XVI Producer Naoki Yoshida translation by @aitaikimochi

We last heard from Final Fantasy XVI during a Tokyo Gameshow Panel, where Naoki Yoshida and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Where the former confirmed that the story had been completed. Since then there was scarcely anything about the title. Only the occasional confirmation by Yoshida, that they are still working very hard on it. We've yet to see more footage of the game as well. Till now, we only have the 2020 Awakening trailer, that Square Enix showed off during one of PlayStation's State of Play streams. Where the title was initially announced to be on PlayStation and PC, which was later changed to it being a PlayStation exclusive.

But what do we know about Final Fantasy XVI?

From the Awakening trailer and Square Enix's website, we can at least deduce that XVI will be more in the vein of classic Final Fantasy titles. The game is directed by Hiroshi Takai of Last Remnant fame and produced by Naoki Yoshida, who's responsible for Final Fantasy XIV and the head of Square Enix's Creative Business Unit III. The two have worked together on Final Fantasy XIV since 2010. The combat is being directed by Ryota Suzuki of Capcom fame. He's been involved in Action and Action-RPG titles like Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon's Dogma.

It's currently assumed, by many fans, that the story is written by Kazutoyo Maehiro. His last big outing was writing the main scenario of Final Fantasy XIV's critically acclaimed Heavensward expansion. There have also been suggestions that the music is being composed Masayoshi Soken, who's also been part of the Final Fantasy XIV team. But only the first 3 names have been confirmed so far.

Final Fantasy XVI takes place in the world of Valisthea, home to several crystals that allow the people to live peacefully. The story revolves around Clive Rosfield, who after a tragic turn of events set out on a quest to avenge his family. The game will feature a real-time action combat system, that will see Clive use a fast mix of melee and magic attacks. At the point of writing, we don't know if the title is going to be a linear affair or feature an open world. Producer Naoki Yoshida promised that there'll be more information sometime in the spring of this year.