Come along, because this archive news item has a happy ending that, in April 2019, nobody knew yet. That month, job openings posted by Square Enix in Japan revealed that the team responsible for Final Fantasy XIV was already working on a new large-scale project, designed for the next generation of consoles.
The team was the Third Development Division, led by Naoki Yoshida, producer and director of Final Fantasy XIV. In the job listing text, Square Enix explained that the project “has already finished the initial development phase and the preparation for development, and is now heading into the full-scale development phase”.
Since it was the team of an MMORPG and Yoshida himself had already spoken of his interest in the genre, many people bet that the new game would be another online title. Nothing was confirmed at the time: no name, no genre, no platforms. It was just a small hint, but one that left the series’ fans very curious.
What came next
The mystery was solved in September 2020, when Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XVI. And what a surprise: it was not an MMORPG, but an action RPG with real-time combat and summoned creatures called Eikons. The game was made by Creative Business Unit III, the same team as Final Fantasy XIV, with Yoshida as producer, Hiroshi Takai as main director, Kazutoyo Maehiro as creative director and scenario writer, and Masayoshi Soken on the soundtrack. According to the team itself, the concept began to be drawn up in 2015 and full production began in 2016, well before those job openings appeared.
Final Fantasy XVI arrived on PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023, on PC on September 17, 2024 and on Xbox Series X|S on June 8, 2025. In its first week it passed three million units, although Square Enix later said sales were below expectations. The game received two expansions: Echoes of the Fallen, in December 2023, and The Rising Tide, in April 2024.
Where to buy
Source: Square Enix, via Gematsu and Eurogamer.
Max Xavier
Lady Combo
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