The next main Final Fantasy has been progressing well within Square Enix.

During the Final Fantasy XIV: The 7th 14-Hour Broadcast, Naoki Yoshida, Yosuke Saito, and Yoko Taro were talking about the next mainline episode of Final Fantasy. Sure, Final Fantasy XV still provides profit for Square Enix, but XV has been out for more than half a decade, and XIV is an MMO. No wonder they had to talk about it!

Yoshida, the producer of Final Fantasy XVI, Yoshida confirmed that the scenario for the game is nearly complete, which is solid, but he went a step further: the voice recording is also in its final stages, including English voice-overs. This is a surprise, especially how Japan is struggling with the pandemic (which led to the Olympics being held behind closed doors this summer!).

„I’m not holding back more information just for the sake of it, but rather I want the next information to be something that will ‘convince everyone to buy the game.’ The visual quality is a given but battles, and other unannounced major features will be included, and I want to present it like “Bam!” So nothing new until I’m satisfied.

I was thinking of showing something for Tokyo Game Show, but I don’t think we can meet that deadline, probably. I want to show you guys something, but hope you can understand. You’re going to be able to play it once it’s out anyway,” Yoshida said regarding new information. That final sentence is suspicious: is Square Enix preparing a demo for the game later this year? (The Game Awards? Tokyo Game Show is in September.)

Square Enix will not surprise the fans with Final Fantasy XVI at the Tokyo Game Show, but the game is confirmed to be a timed PlayStation 5 exclusive. The next „announcement” will be close to the game’s launch.

Source: Gematsu