A new trailer for Final Fantasy XVI shown at the 2022 Game Awards offers up a hefty sample of gameplay and confirms a release date for the title.
Final Fantasy XVI received a new trailer at the 2022 Game Awards, dubbed the "Revenge" trailer, which features the game's release date.
Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida appeared at the Game Awards to present the new trailer, which gives players their best look yet at the game's action-oriented combat system. The trailer showcases some of the game's epic cinematic moments, but it also focuses on real-time gameplay, something that hasn't been all too heavily marketed in the past. The trailer also confirms that the game will arrive on June 22, 2023.
It's been a busy time for Final Fantasy XVI. As the series' next numbered entry, it makes sense that the game's had a fairly long marketing campaign — it was announced in 2020 with a trailer, but the game's second trailer, along with a torrent of information, arrived in 2022. The Final Fantasy XVI Dominance trailer, complete with a wave of newly confirmed "Eikons," the game's take on the summon monsters that have defined Final Fantasy for decades. A third trailer landed in October, making the game's focus on Eikons even more explicit. Each Eikon has a "dominant," a specific summoner who wields their powers. Clive, the protagonist, is the guardian of his younger brother, Joshua, the dominant of Phoenix. Clive himself appears to be the dominant of Ifrit, a powerful fiery Eikon and one of Final Fantasy's oldest and most popular summons.
Yoshida (who has also acted as the creative director on the Final Fantasy MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV since 2013) has spoken publicly about Final Fantasy XVI, confirming a few new details about the game. Yoshida has said that the epic scope of the story didn't allow for an open world, meaning that it will instead be among the more linear Final Fantasy experiences. Yoshida has also noted that the game will feature an action-oriented combat system rather than the traditional turn-based combat of early Final Fantasy games. Yoshida says that decision was made to appeal to younger players, who are more enthusiastic about action games than turn-based combat. More recently, during an interview with IGN, Yoshida attracted some controversy when he noted that FFXVI will feature a largely white cast, calling the lack of diversity "necessary to limit the scope to a single landmass."
Outside of FFXVI, the Final Fantasy series has grown in a few other key places. The Final Fantasy VII Remake project, an initiative to remake and reimagine Final Fantasy VII over a series of different parts, will receive its second of three entries in 2023. The sequel, titled Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, was announced at the Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary event in June, along with a remake of spinoff/prequel Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. That remake, titled Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, is designed to bring the game's visual fidelity and gameplay on par with Final Fantasy VII Remake. CBR had the chance to play Crisis Core Reunion ahead of launch, calling it "the best way to experience" the game.
Final Fantasy XVI is expected to launch on PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023
Sorrel Kerr-Jung's first love is the newsroom, but not far behind is her other passion: forgetting to finish video games. When she's not picking up Chrono Trigger for the seventieth time, she can be found writing news and features about video games for CBR. She has more (and worse!) thoughts on Twitter.
