Posted in: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XVI, Games, Square Enix, Video Games | Tagged: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XVI, Square Enix

Final Fantasy XVI Development Delayed Due To COVID-19

Some discouraging news overnight from the team working on Final Fantasy XVI as development has been delayed due to COVID-19. Last night, a message was posted to the game's Twitter feed from producer Naoki Yoshida, which we have in full for you below. The shorthand is that development on the game will be delayed six months, which to be honest, is perfectly fine. The company didn't make the mistake of putting a hard date on the game, they didn't even say it would be out in 2022. So six months means absolutely nothing at this point because they can set the release date whenever they feel like it, as long as when they turn out isn't broken or rushed so quickly it needs Day One patches. As a slight bonus, it was revealed we'll be getting a look at the game sometime this Spring.

Greetings everyone. When last we spoke, I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021. However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise as complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game's development by almost a half year.

As the latest addition to the Final Fantasy series being developed for the PlayStation 5, Final Fantasy XVI has amassed a sizable 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. 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. Our primary goal now is to be as hands on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished.

So that leaves us with the question, when can we expect the next round of information? Well, I am happy to announce the current plan is to conduct our next big reveal in spring of 2022 as we seek to build excitement leading up to the game's eventual release. I deeply apologize to all those who have been looking forward to learning more about Final Fantasy XVI, and thank you for your continued patience while we focus our combined efforts on development.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!