Final Fantasy XVI is “95 percent” complete, according to game director Hiroshi Takai, who was recently interviewed by Famitsu and was asked by the legendary gaming publication as to where the development team was at regarding the 16th installment of Square Enix’s long-running RPG series.
“Since I’ve grown so accustomed to the development environment of online games over these past few years, I was a little surprised at how quickly we had to go gold,” Takai said in a translation shared by Gematsu. “If you consider the production of physical discs, shipping them worldwide… all of that takes several months of physical time after going gold. So when we say development is 95 percent complete, some might say, ‘well then release it immediately,’ but that’s the reality of the situation…”
In a separate interview with 4Gamer.net, producer Naoki Yoshida revealed that a new trailer for FFXVI would be released by the end of the year, one that will likely be accompanied with the exact release date for the game. So far, Square Enix has only promised that FFXVI will be out in the summer of 2023.
“We’re planning to put out even more information before the end of the year, so I think we’ll be able to tell you [a release date] at that time,” Yoshida previously told Famitsu. “It won’t be any later than summer, so don’t worry.”
A synopsis of FFXVI from Square Enix:
FINAL FANTASY XVI brings players into a world where Eikons are powerful and deadly creatures that reside within Dominants—a single man or woman who is blessed with the ability to call upon their dreaded power. The story follows Clive Rosfield, a young man dedicated to mastering the blade, who is dubbed the First Shield of Rosaria and tasked to guard his younger brother Joshua—the Dominant of the Phoenix. Unexpected events set Clive on a dark and dangerous road to revenge.