Final Fantasy XVI Producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida denied rumors of a planned PC release. The comments came during a stream following the Final Fantasy XIV New Year’s Mahjong Tournament event held on January 9, 2023. The tournament, held each year by FFXIV‘s development team, is streamed live by Japanese video service Nico Nico Douga. [Thanks, Inside!]
Following the tournament, Yoshida appeared on a premium members-only stream to answer fan questions and comment on various topics. He responded to rumors about a Final Fantasy XVI PC version. Speaking in Japanese, he said:
There’s been talk that the PC version [of FFXVI] will come out, but no one [on the team] has said anything about the PC version. I wonder why people assume the PC version will arrive six months after [the PS5 version], so just go ahead and buy a PS5.
The rumors Yoshida seems to be addressing with his comments seem to be related to earlier reveals about Final Fantasy XVI’s release. During the 2020 PlayStation 5 Showcase stream, the initial FFXVI reveal trailer said that the game would be “Also available on PC.” The wording was omitted from the official trailer upload by Square Enix and the official press release. Two years later, Sony’s PS5-focused “Play Like Never Before” trailer aired in November 2022 and mentioned that FFXVI would be a “PS5 exclusive for six months.”
It seems that the speculation conflated these two facts to conclude that the Final Fantasy XVIÂ PC release will happen six months after the PS5 release. Yoshida’s response in this case has been to say, in effect, that he and the team are not talking about any version of FFXVI besides the PS5 release for now. The comments also seem to caution against assuming any other platform releases, PC included, will happen when the PS5 exclusivity window closes.
For its part, Square Enix has brought several recent major releases to PC. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade launched on PC in December 2021, a little more than 6 months after the PS5 release (and more than 20 months after the original PS4 release in April 2020). Meanwhile Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion was a day-and-date release across PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Final Fantasy XVI will release on PS5 on June 22, 2023.
