Final Fantasy 16 was released on June 22, 2023 in a year that was stacked with multiple high-quality games including exclusives for both consoles. While this positively-reviewed title is officially coming to Windows PC (as revealed by Naoki Yoshida, producer for FFXVI), the Final Fantasy 16 Xbox release date for this currently PS5-exclusive title is being talked about. Here’s everything that’s known about it.
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Is FF16 on Xbox?
At the time of writing, no, Final Fantasy XVI is not available on Xbox consoles (Series X/S). It is neither available as a direct game purchase nor as a game in the Xbox Game Pass library.
Final Fantasy VII Remake, a game that was released on PS4 in 2020, isn’t on Xbox yet (it arrived to Windows PC in late 2021, after it came to PS5).
Unfortunately, FFXVI on Xbox may not even be in the pipeline because the devs are currently working on a PC version. Leaker NateDrake aka Nate the Hate confirmed on Sep 30, 2023 that FF7R ports on Switch 2 and/or Xbox are currently not in Square Enix’s plans. This means Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox is a bit too far off.
He writes, “FF7 Remake is not a current plan. Could it happen, eventually? Sure. Is it an active plan at this moment? No. A Switch 2 release exists in the same way an Xbox release does. IF Square wants to do it, they can & will; but no such plan exists at the present.”
PlayStation Exclusivity
The reason for the exclusivity is a partnership between Square Enix and Sony, similar to previous Final Fantasy titles. This partnership dates back to the start of the PS era, with Final Fantasy games almost becoming synonymous with PlayStation, and being the home of JRPGs. While Square Enix did branch out to PC and other consoles, the major and high-profile titles stayed with PS.
In an interview at Gamescom 2023 with IGN, Spencer was asked about the possibility of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16 coming to Xbox. He said:
“I recognise that when people buy an Xbox, they want to make sure the great games that they want to play are coming. If there’s any publisher out there where that hasn’t been true, Square’s one of the top. Sarah Bond [Corporate Vice President, Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem at Microsoft] and I fly to Tokyo and have conversations, and we’ve spent a lot of time with Square. There’s obviously business deals and relationships that will have to get worked through on certain games.”
“So you’ll hear more. I’m not going to push them. They’re going to have to find their own rhythm. But having them make a commitment to Xbox was really important both to me, and I’ve heard it from the community, to the community as well. And 14 was more of a commitment.”
As you can see, there were no promises but there’s hope knowing that Microsoft is having conversations with Square Enix about bringing some Final Fantasy games to Xbox consoles.
Will FFXVI Xbox version launch after PC?
Some theorized that the PS5 exclusivity is timed and that after a certain period, the Xbox version may get announced after the PC version comes out (which should also come out after the PS5 exclusivity period ends). Take this with a grain of salt because all of this is pure speculation. You never know – company acquisitions or calls for cross-platform releases could change this in the future.
Final Fantasy 16 PC version info
In the announcement about FF16’s PC version, Yoshida said, “While Final Fantasy 16 launched as a PlayStation 5 exclusive, we are aware that many of you have been asking for a PC version. So, allow me to take this opportunity to officially announce that development on a PC version is currently underway.”
It’s speculated that we might get a Final Fantasy 16 PC version at the end of 2024 or early 2025. He mentioned in the video that more information on the PC version will be revealed before the end of the year. This may include the official system requirements where an SSD might be a necessity for the best possible experience.
Naoki Yoshida told Famitsu (Thanks PCGamesN) – “Details will be announced in due course. However, I would like you to prepare an SSD. Even if we did our best to adjust the GPU, in Final Fantasy XVI, a game where loading speed is critical, the HDD would be a pain.”
“Of course, we will do our best to optimize as much as possible, but we cannot overcome the hardware barrier alone, so please consider that an SSD is a must. We will announce the exact recommended specifications on another occasion.”
Which Final Fantasy games are on Xbox?
Until we have more information about Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox, you can still dive into the FF universe through these games that are available on the platform (at the time of writing this article):
- FINAL FANTASY 13
- FINAL FANTASY IX
- FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster
- CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION DIGITAL DELUXE EDITION
- FINAL FANTASY XV POCKET EDITION HD
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