Producer Naoki Yoshida recently released a statement which revealed that the development of Final Fantasy 16 has been delayed by almost half a year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this delay, Yoshida and the team will not be able to give us an update on the game. For reference, Yoshida promised recently that more info on Final Fantasy 16 and its development will be released sometime before the end of 2021.
Yohsida’s full statement reads:
“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 sizeable 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”
A message from Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida. #FF16 #FFXVI pic.twitter.com/qtfJUUp6LA
— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) December 27, 2021
While there’s no word yet on a target release date for the game, the good news is that Yoshida confirmed that we will indeed see a Final Fantasy 16 showcase in Spring 2022. With this, Final Fantasy fans won’t have to wait too long for an update.
Final Fantasy 16 is set to release on the PlayStation 5. There’s no info yet on if the game will release on other platforms.