Naoki Yoshida says Final Fantasy 16 won't be on PC 6 months after release

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We thought so, but we're still sad about it.

An image of Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida standing in front of a banner advertising the game.
(Image credit: Playstation and Square Enix)

We'd heard that Final Fantasy 16 is a six-month timed exclusive on PlayStation 5, but Square Enix has been frustratingly vague about a PC version. In a post on Playstation's Japanese blog (in Japanese), producer Naoki Yoshida said that though he would like to release a PC version it simply wouldn't be ready in just six months. The entire team has been focused on optimizing the PS5 version.

"I've caused a bit of a stir with my remarks the other day, but I'd like to touch on the PC version. First of all, it is true that FINAL FANTASY XVI is a six-month limited time exclusive on the PS5 platform. However, it is a completely different story that the PC version will be released in half a year. I will make it clear, but the PC version will not come out in half a year," said Yoshida, via machine translation.

Buck up though, kiddo: This is effectively acknowledgement by Yoshida that a PC version will likely happen, even if it's not six months after release. That's a big step forward from a month ago when he was pretending it wouldn't exist.

"This is because we spent a lot of time and money optimizing the PS5 platform to deliver the best gaming experience. Of course, I would like to release a PC version at some point so that everyone can play as many games as possible. However, even if we start optimizing the PC version after the PS5 version comes out, we won't be able to optimize it in half a year, so it won't come out in a short span of half a year. I would like to release it eventually, and I think I will, but I am not at the stage where I can say when," continued Yoshida.

I think we all knew that PC version felt inevitable, especially with how Square Enix has been behaving with PC ports in the last year or so—which is to say they're making them for just about everything.

Oh, and also, Square's own trailer said it would come to PC. Remember that? We do. So, yeah, looks like we might have to remove it from our list of games due in 2023, as an early 2024 release now looks more likely. However, I swear if they release it six months and two days after the console version and Yoshida says he wasn't lying with a big 'ol wink I am going to send a strongly worded letter.

Jonathan Bolding
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Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.