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Final Fantasy XVI, the upcoming fantasy role-playing title in the iconic Final Fantasy saga, might arrive way sooner than initially expected. The sixteenth mainline entry in the series is being developed under the direction of none other than Yoshi-P, the man behind the amazing comeback of the MMORPG spin-off of the series, Final Fantasy XIV.
Despite releasing some really great games, including some phenomenal expansions for Final Fantasy XIV and a stellar remake of the 1997 classic, Final Fantasy 7, the Final Fantasy series has not received a mainline entry for more than half a decade. The last mainline title under the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XV, was originally released back in November of 2016.
The news of Final Fantasy XVI arriving early comes courtesy of renowned leaker 'The Snitch', whose most recent tweet suggests that the highly anticipated fantasy role-playing title might arrive by the end of the first quarter of 2023. As of writing this article, nothing has been confirmed by Square Enix or the development studios behind the game.
This news is based on leaks and is speculative in nature.
A tweet from renowned leaker "The Snitch" suggests Final Fantasy XVI might release much sooner than initially expected
In his tweet, The Snitch did not directly mention the release date for Final Fantasy XVI, but provided clues about the game's release date in the form of an elegantly structured poem instead.
"in the loneliness of the night a light blinded my eyes twenty two grains of sand and a crystal that protected me six nations divided a common language"
While there isn't a direct mention of Final Fantasy XVI, the word "crystal", which is a prominent occurrence in the Final Fantasy series, as well as the accompanying verbs, feels like a direct nod to the iconic Japanese role-playing game series.
As for the release date, the phrase "twenty two grains" might be referring to the day of the month, i.e., the 22nd, and the phrase "six nations" might mean the sixth month of the calendar, i.e., June.
Based on official marketing and promotional material released by Square Enix themselves, it's been confirmed that the sixteenth mainline entry is arriving sometime in 2023. Hence, it can be deduced that the game might be scheduled to release on June 22, 2023.
While nothing was confirmed at the time of writing this article, Square Enix is expected to give fans a concrete release date for the upcoming mainline Final Fantasy game during The Game Awards 2022, which is scheduled for December 8, 2022.
Final Fantasy XVI is easily one of 2023's most anticipated titles, and a game that's been in the making for a long time, which is normal for any mainline Final Fantasy game. The game is scheduled to be a timed exclusive on PlayStation's current-generation hardware, PlayStation 5, with a PC release arriving later on.
