Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida recently took to Twitter to inform fans that the game would be delayed by a half a year due to COVID-related difficulties. He previously stated that we’d have more solid info in the back half of 2021 but given that we’re already preparing to ring in 2022, that ship appears to have sailed, and for good reason.
In the statement posted to the official Twitter account, Yoshida broke the bad news and explained why: “I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021. However, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to keep that promise as complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game’s development by almost a half year.”
Yoshida further explained that the team has been working from home due to COVID, which has hampered to development of the title to some degree. With the bad news came a new promise to show off the game when it’s ready: “That said, we have spent much of 2021 addressing this issue and hope to see its impact to a minimum by the new year, allowing us to better focus on the tasks at hand: increasing graphic resource quality, refining combat mechanics, fleshing out individual battles, putting the finishing touches on cutscenes, and conducting overall graphical optimization. Our primary goal is now to be as hands on with the game as possible in order to see it fully polished.” He set a loose date of Spring 2022 to show more.
The main scenario is already complete, Yoshida said earlier this year, so further delays might not be necessary. Yoshida is also the producer of the ridiculously popular Final Fantasy 14 and its latest expansion, Endwalker. It’s so popular, in fact, that Square Enix had to suspend purchases and free trials of the game to combat congestion. It’s safe to say that Yoshida has a lot on his plate lately, though there’s still enough time to iron out some wrinkles, it seems.