This is not the first time that a Square Enix title has been temporarily tied to PS4 or PS5. The case of Final Fantasy XVI is reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which debuted on PS4 with a twelve-month exclusivity until April 2020. However, when that date arrived, nothing happened. What’s more, in June the privilege was extended six months from the launch of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on PS5. After half a year the game debuted on PC through the Epic Games Store and then came to Steam. As of today, the title is not yet available on Xbox Series or on Nintendo Switch through the cloud.
It remains to be seen what other platforms Final Fantasy XVI will be released on. At this point we must remember that the trailer with which the game was presented during the PlayStation Showcase 2020 indicated with a text that in addition to PS5 the title would be available on PC. Once the event was over, the trailer that was uploaded on YouTube was not the same, since the aforementioned message did not appear. Faced with the confusion, Square Enix said it had “no more information on whether Final Fantasy XVI will be released on other platforms besides PS5.”
The release date of Final Fantasy XVI, which is 95% complete, will be known before the end of the year. For now we are satisfied with knowing that the title will be available in the summer of 2023.
Going back to the promotional video, the footage also reminds us that Forspoken, another Square Enix game, has a two-year exclusive on PS5. In this case it is limited only to consoles, since on January 24, 2023 Forspoken will also be available on PC through Steam. For the title to go on sale on other platforms, it will be necessary to wait until January 23, 2025.
In the PlayStation Showcase stream we saw this, but in the YouTube trailer this part was replaced with the PS5 logo.
