‘Final Fantasy 16’ is 95 per cent done, release date will be announced this year

Final Fantasy 16 is 95 per cent finished, with a firm release date to be announced this year.

Development on Final Fantasy 16 has been a turbulent affair. Last October, director Naiko Yoshida said that the game was nearly complete but by December, he announced that work had been delayed due to COVID-19.

In April, he confirmed that Final Fantasy 16 was in the “final stages” of development.

Now, in a new interview with Famitsu (and translated by IGN), Yoshida said that Final Fantasy 16 was about “95 per cent” done, with the team now mostly focusing on debugging the title. “We’ve forbidden anyone to add new code in case new bugs appear,” he said.

He also confirmed that a release date and “some more information” will be announced before the end of the year. In June, a trailer confirmed that Final Fantasy 16 was aiming for a summer 2023 release window. Speaking to Famitsu, Yoshida said that was still the plan. “I don’t think we’ll go beyond the summer, so I think it’s okay.”

Speaking about Final Fantasy 16 earlier this year, Yoshida said: “Unlike an online game that involves many players at the same time, Final Fantasy 16 offers a different experience where it focuses on the individual player and immerses you in the story. I think it’s a very fleshed out story.”

He continued: “For those who have grown up and realised that reality isn’t kind to you and have drifted away from Final Fantasy, we hope that 16 will be a game that brings back anew the passion that you once had for the series.”

Last month, a new political-heavy trailer for the title was released, with Yoshida then forced to defend the apparent lack of diversity within the medieval Europe-inspired game. “The story we are telling is fantasy, yes, but it is also rooted in reality”.

“It can be challenging to assign distinctive ethnicities to either antagonist or protagonist without triggering audience preconceptions, inviting unwarranted speculation, and ultimately stoking flames of controversy,” he added.

In other news, Infinity Ward has released the patch notes for Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s first major update, and has promised a lot more changes coming with the launch of season one.