Final Fantasy 16’s development has been delayed by “almost half a year” because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the next big revelation will not take place until Spring 2022, according to Square Enix.
Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida announced the news on Twitter, apologizing for not being able to meet his promise to display more of the highly anticipated next sequel in the Final Fantasy series in 2021.
Final Fantasy 16 Trailer
“Greetings everyone,” Yoshida wrote. “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 has 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,” Yoshida added. “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.”
While this may be disappointing news for Final Fantasy fans, Yoshida promises us that much of 2021 will be spent addressing these issues, making 2022 appear a lot more promising.
“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,” Yoshida informed. “Our primary goal now is to be as hands-on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished.”
Yoshida mentioned that the team is planning a big surprise for Final Fantasy 16 in Spring 2022.
“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,” Yoshida wrote.
“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,” Yoshida concluded.
Final Fantasy 16 was first revealed during the PlayStation 5 event in September 2020, with a cinematic teaser that showcased a more medieval fantasy environment, iconic summons, crystals, and more for this forthcoming PlayStation exclusive.
