Final Fantasy XVI hit with production delay, more info in spring 2022

‘Thank you for your continued patience’

Square Enix producer Naoki Yoshida has released a new statement announcing that upcoming RPG Final Fantasy XVI has been hit with a sizeable delay. In a candid statement posted on social media, Yoshida noted that the delay prevents the team from offering any major news updates on the sequel until the spring of 2022.

“When last we spoke, I promised I would have more information on Final Fantasy XVI sometime later in 2021,” begins Yoshida in the statement. “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.”

“In an effort to offset the effects of COVID-19, we’ve had to decentralize that workforce by permitting staff to tackle their assignments from home. This has unfortunately hampered communication from the Tokyo office, which, in turn, has led to delays in—or in extreme cases, cancellations of—asset deliveries from our outsource partners. 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.”

Yoshida summarizes by thanking fans for their ongoing patience and noting that the next major update on the production of Final Fantasy XVI can be expected around spring 2022. You can check out the full statement over on the official Final Fantasy XVI Twitter. While the world has lived alongside the trials and tribulations of COVID-19 pandemic for two years now, it continues to impact business, production, and manufacture throughout all global industries.

Final Fantasy XVI is currently in production for PS5.