New PlayStation ad reveals that Final Fantasy XVI is PS5 exclusive for six months - and Forspoken until 2025
A new social media advertisement video for the PlayStation 5 has revealed the timing of the exclusivity window deal between Sony and Square Enix for Final Fantasy XVI - revealing that the hotly anticipated upcoming RPG will be exclusive to Sony's newest hardware for at least six months.
The ad, which was posted to the official @PlayStation Twitter account, is pretty explicit - featuring footage of FF16 in action with accompanying text along the bottom of the screen that reads: "Final Fantasy XVI anticipated Summer 2023. PS5 exclusive for six months.".
This text appears to reveal the exact timing of the exclusivity agreement between Sony and Square Enix - though this isn't to say that FF16 will immediately crop up on other platforms after six months, as seen in the case of some other recent Square Enix exclusives.
In the case of Final Fantasy VII Remake, the exclusivity period was one year - but after one year, Sony appeared to re-up their commitment to the game, paying for a further six-month exclusivity deal for the PS5-only FF7 Remake Intergrade new-generation re-release and expansion. Six months after that, FF7 Remake finally made its way to PC - and as it currently stands, no Xbox version is in sight.
FF16's platform status has also appeared a little curious since its announcement. The initial reveal trailer as broadcast in a PlayStation State of Play stream featured disclaimer text that declared that the version of the game shown in the trailer was running on a PC that was specced to a similar level as a PS5, as well as a description of the game as "PlayStation Console Exclusive", but "also available on PC". However, versions of that trailer uploaded separately nixed that disclaimer - and Square Enix told our friends at Gematsu that they had no further information on FF16's release for any platform beyond the PS5.
Based on recent Square Enix and Sony exclusivity tie-ups, it seems likely that FF16 will at the bare minimum come to PC six months or so after the PlayStation release. There's also every change it still may come to Xbox - as the last two main-line Final Fantasy titles have come to Xbox, as well as Kingdom Hearts 3 and a range of ports and remasters. Only FF7 Remake appears to have skipped the Microsoft platform entirely.
Elsewhere, the same video features a glimpse of Forspoken, with the same familiar disclaimer text. In this instance, it says "Foprspoken available January 24, 2023. PS5 exclusive until January 23, 2025." That gives that new Square Enix IP a two-year exclusivity period - though it is also coming to PC, on Epic Games Store, on day one.
The fact Forspoken's exclusivity doesn't stretch to PC means that the same could theoretically be true of FF16 - but it seems unlikely, given that we haven't formally heard about a PC release at this point, presumably less than nine months from FF16's launch.
As always, time will tell. FF16's final release status remains a mystery, but we know a little more about the game now than we did a few weeks ago - with the game's bosses confirming they will reveal the release date before 2022 is over, and explaining why the game won't feature as broad representation as some other FF games.
If you want to soak up all the FF16 info you can get your hands on, be sure to check out our deep dives into the development staff, including profiles of the game's main director and creative director, a combat system analysis, and our primer introducing you to the FF16 character cast. The game will arrive sometime this coming summer.