Without a doubt, this is an older rumor, but one that has recently come to my attention, thanks to Xbox Era Podcast. Having industry insiders routinely on their show when they claim Final Fantasy 16 is in development and will be a PS5 exclusive that is worth taking notice of.
Initially, the big announcement was supposed to come during the flop of a June presentation, but for some unspecified reason, it was pulled. Little is known about the project, but a 2019 leak from 4chan claimed it was being developed by Naoki Yoshida, featuring combat a mixture of Dark Souls and Final Fantasy 15. Players will be able to customize their character, and the game will feature a job system.
Supposedly the game will feature a vast open-world with cities and dungeons to explore. The world is described as possessing a classic Final Fantasy feel with steampunk elements. At the moment, it is being developed in Unreal Engine 4, but the developers are considering upgrading to Unreal Engine 5.
Though skepticism has been cast upon that last claim, it would not be out of the ordinary for a developer to be given a pre-launch build or development kit, Allowing games to be ready in the first year after the official release.
Rumor Analysis: Most likely
Pragmatically FF16 is going to happen at some point. There currently is a reasonable incentive for Square Enix to prioritize the game’s development after FF7 Remake experience the lowest sales of any modern Final Fantasy game. The only defense against this is the claim lies in the assertion it broke series sales records. That holds up until you read the fine print, revealing they’re talking about the volume of digital sales compared to any previous game. Not overall performance.
The Sony exclusivity makes sense as Sony has timed exclusivity for Final Fantasy 7 Remake until March 3rd, 2021. What might have delayed the announcement from the June conferences is Square’s reconsideration of the timed exclusivity. This could happen because certain assurance clauses were triggered in the FF7R agreement or because Square’s executives are reconsidering the viability of being PS5 exclusive after Sony’s reputation fell apart and the limited number of units being prepared for the first year for the PS5.
From a business standpoint, it would be a deathblow to the game’s success if they were locked into a console the Japanese and international markets don’t adopt. A likelihood that is looking increasingly more likely.
Naoki Yoshida being the game’s director is a coin flip. He did express frustration at the announcement, but he doesn’t emphatically deny the allegations either. Stating that he will remain in charge of FF14 unless he dies from sickness or an accident. Yet no one is claiming he would step down from FF14 unless the person who asked the question incorporated that assertion in the question the response was made to.
At the same time, as he is expressing frustration at the leak, his studio posted is developing a new core project. A 2019 a job listing proves as much.
“We have launched a new core project following Final Fantasy XIV, and we have begun the challenge for the next generation. This project has already completed its initial development, has completed environment development and is now moving into a full-scale large-scale development phase.”
Of course, that doesn’t immediately mean he is developing a new Final Fantasy game, but the circumstantial evidence does point in that direction. Yoshida saved Final Fantasy 14, and right now, Square needs someone to save the next entry in the franchise. His selection would be the most sensible for the task as the development of the next installment of the remake is underway under Nomura.