While it was revealed last year during the PS5 showcase without a firm release date, fans were undoubtedly hoping to see a Final Fantasy 16 2021 release so they could start playing the latest Final Fantasy game sooner rather than later. However, now it’s looking unlikely that we’ll see Final Fantasy XVI release before April 2022, as the latest Square Enix financial report suggests the publisher will be focusing on original IP until then.
Why is a Final Fantasy 16 2021 release date unlikely?
Square Enix has released its latest financial reports for the past year, and during the report the publisher stated that it will be focusing on new IP for the time until the end of this financial year, which ends March 2022. This means Square Enix intends to concentrate on original titles such as Outriders, Project Triangle Strategy, and Forspoken until at least April next year, meaning that titles such Final Fantasy XVI and Dragon Quest 12 won’t release until later in 2022.
Square Enix surprised at results by saying titles coming in period ending Mar 2022 will be focused on new IP titles (Outriders, Forspoken etc), that major IPs will come in the following years. So I think that means FF16,DQ12 etc will be April 2022 or later. Surprised #SquareEnix
— David Gibson (@gibbogame) May 13, 2021
This may only refer to full entries in the studio’s main franchises, since Square Enix has already announced that battle royale game Final Fantasy 7 The First Soldier will be out in 2021. This also gives hope to the possibility that Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2 may release before April 2022, although with Final Fantasy XVI so far along there is doubt about that releasing anytime soon.
Final Fantasy XVI certainly hasn’t had anything more than an announcement trailer so far, meaning that it was always unlikely to get a release in 2021, but it’s disappointing to have the confirmed. Nevertheless, Forspoken — previously known as Project Athia — has been rumored for an early 2022 release date so that will likely hit before April 2022.
Want to know why our reviewer described Final Fantasy VII Remake as ‘one of the best titles I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing’? Check out our review right here.
