With the Tokyo Game Show 2024 scheduled for next week, the rumors of a Final Fantasy XVI Xbox announcement have already intensified.
Game Producer Naoki Yoshida had already reiterated the company’s commitment to Microsoft’s platform following the release of Final Fantasy XIV. Now, two different insiders have claimed that Final Fantasy XVI, as well as the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, will be announced soon for Xbox.
The first one to do so was the leaker previously known as Midori and now revealed to be ‘Ryan from Bronx’. A few hours later, Windows Central’s Jez Corden said in the latest episode of the Xbox Two podcast:
I’ll just say that now, if you’re expecting Final Fantasy VII to be announced at Tokyo Game Show, don’t expect that this time around, but I think what you’ll see is some Final Fantasy. I don’t know exactly what, but you’ll see some Final Fantasy, which will hint at a broader partnership. Maybe if you’re lucky it’ll be on Game Pass too.
We’ve known that the Final Fantasy VII Remake Xbox port would be harder to pull off for Microsoft, mostly because of tighter exclusivity deals signed by Square Enix with Sony. However, Final Fantasy XVI should be less problematic, and there’s a good chance it will be announced soon for Microsoft’s console following the PC launch from earlier this week. It will be interesting to see how the game performs on Xbox Series S, though, given that FFXVI taxes heavily not only the PlayStation 5 hardware but also powerful PCs, as noted in Digital Foundry’s analysis.
As for the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, it is unlikely there were any actual exclusive deals, and the Xbox port was just a matter of when Square Enix would be willing to allocate the necessary resources.
Anyway, these announcements should take place during Microsoft’s Xbox TGS 2024 broadcast, slated for Thursday, September 26.
