Is Final Fantasy XVI coming to PC by the end of 2023?

The Final Fantasy universe is beloved by so many gamers. The success of the franchise continues to grow as we are just less than 48 hours from the official release of the sixteenth main installment in the series. Final Fantasy XVI is going to take you on a rollercoaster of an adventure with Clive and the rest of the crew. If you are looking to purchase a copy of FFXVI, pre-orders are still available if you haven’t already done so already.

If you are looking to play Final Fantasy XVI, you are going to need to own a PlayStation 5, at least for the first six months. FFXVI will be a PlayStation 5 exclusive at launch, but that doesn’t mean it will remain this way forever. In fact, there is a highly good chance that it doesn’t.

Final Fantasy XVI may be coming to other platforms other than PlayStation 5

According to the FFXVI producer Naoki Yoshida, he would “like to release a PC version at some point.” Yoshida even confirmed that Final Fantasy XVI will indeed be a PlayStation 5 exclusive for at least six months. However, that would not mean that FFXVI will be released for PC by the end of 2023.

Six months from the FFXVI official release date would be December 22, 2023. This would be perfect timing for the holidays. This will not be the case though. Yoshida explained that developers have spent all of their time making sure that the game will be optimized for PlayStation 5 gameplay. In order to get the best experience possible, this is what Yoshida and the rest of the FFXVI devs felt like what was necessary in order to make that happen.

Naoki Yoshida also made some other interesting comments that even confirmed more so that Final Fantasy XVI wouldn’t be hitting PC by the end of 2023. Yoshida stated: “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.”

Video games take a long time to develop and even when a game is developed it still takes a long time to bring it to other platforms because you always want to make sure the game is ready to be played on that new platform. It is better to make sure the game is near perfect than to rush it and have a game that is less enjoyable to play on whichever platform.

Final Fantasy XVI not coming to PC right away should come as no surprise. If you remember what happened with Final Fantasy XV, the similar approach was taken. Final Fantasy was released on consoles on November 29, 2016. It was not until roughly two years later on March 6, 2018, that a PC version was released.

While this may be a bit disappointing for PC players, it also shouldn’t come as a major surprise. If anything, it will be something for PC players to look forward to down the line if it does ever come to fruition. Gamers can enjoy Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5 for the duration of 2023 and then play it all again on other platforms beyond 2023 if you so choose to do so.

You also have to take into consideration that there is a chance that Final Fantasy XVI comes to Xbox platforms just like Final Fantasy XV did. Naoki Yoshida stated that Final Fantasy XVI was a PlayStation 5 exclusive for six months. That means an Xbox version may also be in the works for 2024 and beyond.