Brotaku

Naoki Yoshida, producer of Final Fantasy XVI, has confirmed that the development of the game has been delayed “by almost a half year” due to COVID-19. Yoshida-san also revealed that the development team is quite sizable and has acquired talent from across the world but the impact of the coronavirus has led to a delay in communication and delivery. Yoshida-san also apologised for not being able to reveal more news about Final Fantasy XVI, which he previously promised to do before the end of 2021. Yoshida-san has confirmed that more details about the game will be revealed in the Spring of 2022.

Here’s what Yoshida-san had to say:

Greetings everyone,

When last we spoke, I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021, However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise as complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game’s development by almost a half year.

As the latest addition to the Final Fantasy series being developed for the PlayStation 5, Final Fantasy XVI has amassed a sizeable team composed of talented creators from around the world. However, in an effort to offset the effects of COVID-19, we’ve had to decentralize that workforce by permitting staff to tackle their assignments from home. This has unfortunately hampered communication from the Tokyo office, which, in turn, has led to delays in—or in extreme cases, cancellations of—asset deliveries from our outsource partners.

That said, we have spent much of 2021 addressing this issue, and hope to see its impact to a minimum by the new year, allowing us to better focus on the tasks at hand: increasing graphic resource quality, refining combat mechanics, fleshing out individual battles, putting the finishing touches on cutscenes, and conducting overall graphical optimization. Our primary goal now is to be as hands on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished.

So that leaves us with the question, when can we expect the next round of information? Well, I am happy to announce the current plan is to conduct our next big reveal in spring of 2022 as we seek to build excitement leading up to the game’s eventual release.

I deeply apologize to all those who have been looking forward to learning more about Final Fantasy XVI, and thank you for your continued patience while we focus our combined efforts on development.

Final Fantasy XVI Details via 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.

Final Fantasy XVI is currently in development for the PlayStation 5.