Final Fantasy XVI Development Pushed Nearly Six Months Due To Ongoing Pandemic Stress

While Square Enix remains busy with the Final Fantasy IP as per usual, the firm this month wrapped up on Final Fantasy VII Remake once again. Earlier in December the publisher delivered the 2020-released title to PC via Epic Games Store. And while the reimagining of the classic 1997 RPG is still underway with Part Two in development, the next mainline entry is still on the way as well.

Revealed in 2020, Final Fantasy XVI is officially in development according to Square Enix with a full-length trailer for the game. Around the same time, it was later disclosed that development was following according to plans laid out for the internal team. Then, it was said ‘base development’ has completed for the 16th game in the flagship series.

But, the COVID-19 pandemic strikes again with a new delay for the upcoming title. As new variants ongoing ailment grips the world, industries are stepping lightly to ensure the safety of its consumers and workers. Thus a new six-month delay in development has been instated according to a new letterhead on Twitter.

“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,” Producer Naoki Yoshida wrote in the announcement.

“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.

Adding, “Our primary goal now is to be as hands on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished.” While there is a longer wait for the game, Square Enix reassures new information is closed to being announced. Later in the letterhead it reveals a “big” spring 2022 reveal is to take place next year.

Recently, Square Enix relieved a large amount of stress for its ongoing IP Final Fantast XIV Online. In that, the game following the release of expansion Endwalker was met with server overflow and purchasing for the game has been suspended. You can read the full report by heading here.

What are your thoughts on the development delay for Final Fantasy XVI?

Final Fantasy XVI is listed for PlayStation 5.