Is Final Fantasy 16 coming to Xbox and PC?
As far as we know, the PlayStation exclusivity agreement for Final Fantasy 16 ends on December 2024, and a PC port is planned to be released during that time. However, when Final Fantasy 7 Remake's exclusivity arrangement ended, only a PC port got made with no Xbox port in sight to this day. This means, for Xbox fans, that Final Fantasy 16 could end up with a similar fate.
It is looking like Final Fantasy 16 will be ported only to PC, ignoring the Xbox.
Final Fantasy 16 is the next major installment of Square Enix's prolific Final Fantasy franchise. It is being developed by Square Enix's Creative Business Unit III, the developers behind the widely popular MMORPG Final Fantasy 14.
Final Fantasy 16 is an action-oriented JRPG that tells the story of Clive Rosfield, a warrior that has the power to transform into Ifrit — one of the Final Fantasy series' iconic summon monsters. This game aims to be a darker take on the franchise with a visceral combat system and a mature storyline involving themes of tragedy, political intrigue, and revenge as we follow Clive's life from his innocent childhood to his bitter adult years.
Final Fantasy 16 is set to be released exclusively for PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023. However, the game's director, Naoki Yoshida, confirmed in an interview (via GameInformer) that Final Fantasy 16 is a timed exclusive and that fans should expect a PC port to arrive in late 2024 or even a later date. Unfortunately for Xbox fans, there is no mention or plans of an Xbox port being made.
This is likely due to the fact that Sony offered a better deal for Square Enix compared to Microsoft when it came to deciding which consoles would inherit Final Fantasy 16. Square Enix stated Sony's deal gave them high-level platform support (while implying that Microsoft didn't) and that it would be more beneficial to them to focus on optimizing the game on a single platform.
This is bleak news for Xbox fans hoping to play Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Like the unfortunate fate of Final Fantasy 7 Remake likely never coming to Xbox, the chances of Final Fantasy 16's getting an Xbox port is looking just as slim. On the bright side, PC fans can look forward to the next chapter of the Final Fantasy series coming soon to PC in the far future.
