Square Enix has announced that the highly anticipated continuation to the Final Fantasy franchise, Final Fantasy 16, has been delayed by almost half a year due to the ongoing global pandemic.
In a statement released on Twitter, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida explained that “complications stemming from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic have delayed the game’s development by almost half a year.”
To keep its employee’s safe during the pandemic, Square Enix has had to decentralize their workforce, allowing staff to work from home, which has “hampered the communications from the Tokyo office.”
As Yoshida explained in the statement, this faltered communication has led to “delays in – or in extreme cases, cancellations of – asset deliveries from our outsource partners.”
According to Yoshida, Square Enix has “spent much of 2021 addressing this issue,” so 2022 should hopefully be better. Throughout 2022, Square Enix will be “increasing graphic resource quality, refining combat mechanics, fleshing out individual battles, putting the finishing touches on cutscenes, and conducting overall graphical optimization.”
A message from Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida. #FF16 #FFXVI pic.twitter.com/qtfJUUp6LA
— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) December 27, 2021
As a result of this delay, it is currently unclear just when Final Fantasy 16 may now release. Thankfully we might be finding out the release date soon, as in the statement Yosida announced that Square Enix’s current plan is to conduct a “big reveal in spring of 2022.”