Summary
Right now,Final Fantasy 16is ending 2023 on a high note. Walking out of the 2023 Game Awards with an award for Best Score and Music courtesy of composer Masayoshi Soken, the action-RPG also shadow-dropped the first part of its DLC. Echoes of the Fallen provides players with about three more hours of endgame content, filling out some lore details regarding the ancient Fallen civilization and providing a proper endgame dungeon to make up for what someFinal Fantasy 16players found to be an oversimplified final stretch.
With good sales for the PS5 exclusive confirmed by Square Enix, things are looking up for the latest chapter in theFinal Fantasyfranchise, but that chapter may be coming to an end. According to a recent Famitsu interview with producer Naoki Yoshida,Final Fantasy 16’s development team has already disbanded and moved on to other projects, with a skeleton crew remaining to finish off the second DLC, The Rising Tide. It sounds like there are no plans for anyFinal Fantasy 16sequels or spin-offs, which should make for a fittingly humble ending to Clive Rosfield’s tale.
Final Fantasy 16 Kept Its Content Roadmap Short
As far as final updates go,Final Fantasy 16’s DLC sounds like it will leave the game on a high note. Both DLC episodes appear to be set near the end ofFF16’s story, and should provide a sufficient endgame experience that also adds morechallenges for action-mindedFF16players. This goes double for the upcoming Rising Tides episode, which is estimated to be around ten hours, implying a whole new field map complete with sidequests, and could come with a new replayable mode for players to test their new Leviathan Eikon abilities against.
A PC Port Should Be Final Fantasy 16’s Final Release
It would be nice ifFinal Fantasy 16came to Xbox eventually, but a PC port is all that’s been confirmed right now, and that should be the end of it. Chances are good that the DLC skeleton crew and the PC team are separate due to different expertise needed, so the only things fans should expect after both have been released are emergency hotfixes.Even if a PCFinal Fantasy 16takes over a year to arrive, that will still be a much shorter tenure than modernFinal Fantasy’s have endured, which is a lot better than it sounds.
It’s Good That Final Fantasy 16 Isn’t Dragging Its Heels
WhyFinal Fantasy 16ending after only a year of post-launch support is worth celebrating may not be obvious to newer fans. SinceFinal Fantasy 10, everynumberedFinal Fantasyhas had either sequels, spin-offs, multiple years of updates, or some combination of the three. WhileFinal Fantasy 11and14require regular support thanks to being MMOs, theFinal Fantasy 13and15eras suffered from various flaws, controversies, and a growing lack of interest. EvenFinal Fantasy 7has returned with new installments recently, so seeingFF16wrap itself up as a single, self-contained story is refreshing.
What’s Next After Final Fantasy 16?
The developers who once worked onFinal Fantasy 16can now focus their efforts on other titles. It’s unclear if Creative Business Unit 3 will handle the next mainlineFinal Fantasy, especially with its ongoingFinal Fantasy 14duties, but it will likely work on something related to the franchise.Final Fantasy 16ended on a definitive note, and with its DLC answering most of the lingering questions about its setting, it has bowed out gracefully just in time forFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthandother rumoredFinal Fantasytitlesto step in. AFinal Fantasystory hasn’t ended this quickly in a long time, but, for the good of fans and future games,Final Fantasy 16has proven it still can.
