PlayStation’s latest promotional trailer for the console includes a snippet of Final Fantasy 16 gameplay. The small print underneath states: “Final Fantasy 16 anticipated Summer 2023. PS5 exclusive for six months.” Watch on YouTube FINAL FANTASY XVI “AMBITION” Back in 2020, when the game was first announced, it was described as a PlayStation console exclusive that would also be available on PC. It was unknown, however, if the game would launch at a different time on PC or simultaneously. Industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls reported at the time that the game would be a full exclusive for six months and console exclusive for 12 months, meaning a PC release would arrive six months after PS5 with the potential for other consoles after a year. This latest trailer suggests that Harding-Rolls is so far correct. By comparison, the trailer includes another Square Enix game: Forspoken. It has a release date of 25th January 2023, with the trailer stating “PS5 exclusive until January 23 2025”.
For a further comparison, Final Fantasy 7 Remake hit PC at the end of last year, following its initial release on PS4 in April 2020. The latest full trailer for Final Fantasy 16, released last month, shows gameplay of the colossal Eikon battles, as well as new details on the game’s plot. However, director Naoki Yoshida has recently addressed the lack of diversity in the game’s cast. “It can be challenging to assign distinctive ethnicities to either antagonist or protagonist without triggering audience preconceptions, inviting unwarranted speculation, and ultimately stoking flames of controversy,” he said.
