As Final Fantasy XVI prepares for the release of the Rising Tide DLC, a key Square Enix developer has released some fresh information about the game’s upcoming PC port.

The producer of Final Fantasy XVI, Naoki Yoshida, gave good news to the fans waiting for the PC port of the game. In an interview, he stated that the port is in the “final optimization phase” of development. Yoshida also stated that a demo of the PC version of FF16 may come out before release. But he did not reveal exact dates for the demo or game release.

The news comes as Square Enix and Creative Business Unit 3 prepare for the release of Final Fantasy XVI’s second expansion, The Rising Tide.

While the expansion doesn’t have an exact release date at the time of writing, The Rising Tide is slated to arrive this spring. Like the Echoes of the Fallen DLC, The Rising Tide will take place right before the final battle of FF16. The aquatic Eikon, conspicuously absent from the base game, explores the origins of Leviathan the Lost. With the reveal of The Rising Tide, a fight between Ifrit and Leviathan was hinted at.

In the meantime, Final Fantasy fans eager to play the sixteenth instalment of the franchise on PC don’t have to wait much longer. According to an interview with Game Informer, Yoshida said that the PC port of Final Fantasy XVI is in the final stages of optimization. The required system specifications can be pretty high. In December 2023, Yoshida confirmed that one of the requirements for playing FF16 on PC would be an SSD drive. However, he did not reveal any additional specifications that PC gamers will need to play the game.

Yoshida also said that Final Fantasy XVI’s PC release “won’t be too distant in the future; it won’t be in a year, it won’t be two years, it will probably be shorter than that.”

However, Yoshida also asked fans to wait a little longer to find out when the PC port of FF16 will officially arrive. Additionally, Localization Director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and DLC Director Takeo Kujiraoka will speak at PAX East about The Rising Tide. The panel will also be streamed on Twitch and YouTube on Friday, March 22nd, at 11:30 AM ET. It has not yet been revealed whether the PC port will be discussed in addition to The Rising Tide.

Between The Rising Tide and the highly anticipated Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, Yoshida and the Final Fantasy franchise still have more to offer fans in 2024. Only time will tell when The Rising Tide DLC and the PC port of FF16 will officially arrive.

Source: Game Informer