Final Fantasy 16 comes to PS5 in Summer 2023

Final Fantasy 16 Shiva State of Play June 2022
(Image credit: Square Enix)

What you need to know

  • Final Fantasy 16 was first revealed back in September 2020.
  • Since then, there's been very few in-depth updates on the status of the game. 
  • At Sony's June 2, 2022 State of Play showcase, Square Enix showed up with a new trailer for Final Fantasy 16. 
  • The game also now has a release window of Summer 2023. 

Closing out Sony's PlayStation State of Play showcase for June 2, 2022, Square Enix showed up with a new trailer for Final Fantasy 16. You can check out the trailer below:

Final Fantasy 16 was first revealed during Sony's September 2020 PlayStation showcase as a timed PS5 console exclusive. Since then, there haven't been too many updates on the status of the game, or any new trailers. 

Now, Final Fantasy 16 has a release window of Summer 2023 for PS5. The last mainline game in the franchise, Final Fantasy 15, was developed by Luminous Productions and launched in 2015. Final Fantasy 16 is being led by Creative Business Unit 13, a development team at Square Enix known for working on the ongoing MMORPG, Final Fantasy 14.

The story of Final Fantasy 16 takes place in the world of Valisthea, and the storyline's main power struggle appears to revolve around the young Joshua Rosfield, a boy of royal blood who has incredible power despite being physically weak. The game's main protagonist is Clive Rosfield, the older brother and bodyguard of Joshua. Clive is not the heir, despite being the older sibling.

This latest trailer naturally showed off combat gameplay, as well as the iconic Final Fantasy summons like Shiva and Bahamut.

"With the power of the PlayStation 5 behind us, we’re looking to take you on a seamless, story-driven, white-knuckle ride that will rival even the most thrilling roller-coaster," writes Yoshida Naoki, producer on Final Fantasy 16. "So buckle up, the wait is almost over!"

Samuel Tolbert

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on PlayStation on Android Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert