Final Fantasy 16 development has ‘entered the home stretch’, producer says

The producer and director of Final Fantasy 16 have claimed that the game is nearing the final stages of development.

In a message posted shortly after the reveal of the game’s latest trailer, producer Naoki Yoshida said: “I’m happy to announce that our newest trailer, Ambition, is now live.

“Rather than focusing on action as we did in our last reveal, this time we wanted to give the world a more in-depth look at Final Fantasy XIV‘s lore and its rich cast of characters, with the Dominants front and center.”

He added: “With regards to development, the team has turned the corner and entered the home stretch, and is currently concentrating its efforts on debugging, tweaking, polishing, and optimisation.

“As for promotion, over the next few weeks, myself, Main Director Hiroshi Takai, Creative Director Kazutoyo Maehiro, and Localisation Director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox will be taking part in interviews with multiple media outlets from across the globe to bring you even more information, so make sure you keep your eyes out for those out as well.”

In a separate statement, the game’s director Hiroshi Takai said: “As the game edges closer to completion, the team has turned its full attention to debugging and final adjustments. Now that things are starting to come together, the game is sizing up to be something truly special.

“We know you are all hungry to see more, but for now we hope that this little peek into the world of Final Fantasy XVI is enough to keep you both satisfied and (of course) speculating until our next big reveal.”

Yoshida’s latest statement comes more than a year after he claimed that Square Enix was putting the final touches on the PS5 RPG.

In October 2021, Yoshida stated that the game’s main design was complete, and that the development team was finalising the remaining side quests set to appear in the game. He added that the game’s character models were nearly finished and that there were only a few quality improvements left to be done on the game.

However, providing an update on the title last December, Yoshida then said Final Fantasy XVI’s development had fallen almost half a year behind schedule.

Yoshida stated again in April 2022 that the game was near the end of development, claiming work on the game was “in its final stages”.