The producer of Final Fantasy XVI has apologized for delaying further news about the game, but why exactly have further FF16 updates been pushed back?
A news update about Final Fantasy XVI was delayed out of 2021, leading producer Naoki Yoshida to publically apologize on Twitter, with the promise of an update in Spring 2022. There has been little information revealed about FF16 and fans aren’t expecting to play the upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive any time soon. So, what was the reason for FF16‘s delay?
FF16 was revealed during the PS5 Showcase event, as a timed console exclusive for the system. The initial trailer featured a mixture of cinematics and gameplay footage, yet there was no indication of when the game was actually coming out. New information about the main characters and the game world was revealed on the official FF16 website, which explained some of the content in the trailer. Yoshida promised that more information about the game would be revealed in 2021, but the fact that it missed E3, the Tokyo Game Show, and The Game Awards led many fans to believe that the next update would arrive in 2022.
The pandemic has resulted in numerous game delays in 2021, with titles like Deathloop, Gran Turismo 7, and Gotham Knights all suffering production issues as a result of lockdowns and quarantining. FF16 is a slightly different case, as the release window has yet to be revealed and fans are not expecting it to launch anytime soon. However, the pandemic did prevent a new FF16 announcement this year.
The Pandemic Has Delayed Final Fantasy XVI
Yoshida explained the reasons for the delay in a post on the official Final Fantasy XVI Twitter page. Square Enix allowed staff to work from home at the end of 2020, as a means of curbing the effects of COVID-19. This has made it more difficult for staff members to effectively communicate with each other and to make sure that assets are delivered in a safe manner. The shift to telework opens up issues with cyber security, leading to work taking longer to produce than it would if people were in the same office, where work can be completed on machines that aren’t online. This has become such an issue that some assets from partners outside of Square Enix had to be canceled. The project has been delayed by around six months, which is why Yoshida and his team were unable to reveal more information about the game in 2021, and the next update is planned for Spring 2022.
The fan response to this delay has been positive, with messages of support for the developers being left on the official Final Fantasy social media accounts. The game doesn’t have a release date and Yoshida said he doesn’t want to reveal more FF16 footage until it’s nearly ready to be released. The FF7 Remake fans who waited five years from reveal trailer to launch can understand his reticence. The pandemic has thrown the release schedule of many video games into chaos, even though it started at the beginning of 2020.
The high-quality of games like Endwalker was helped by last-minute delays, and a delay regarding more information being released is something that doesn’t need apologizing for. FF16 will be ready when it’s ready, and Square Enix already has a number of big games coming out in 2022, including Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Chocobo GP, Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, and a new original IP called Forspoken, so it’s not as if Final Fantasy 16 needs to be rushed out of the door to fill a hole in the schedule.
Source: Final Fantasy XVI/Twitter
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