News Articles
Monday10th Jul 2023
Random Final Fantasy 16 Theme Song's Official Music Video Equal Parts Sombre, Melodramatic
As it should be
Final Fantasy XVI is currently making a home within millions of PS5s, even if sales appear to have slackened quite severely in recent days. One of the highlights of the game (we thought) was its soundtr
Thursday6th Jul 2023
News Japanese Final Fantasy 16 Sales Plummet by 90% in Second Week
Beaten by Master Detective Archives too
Japan really doesn't seem as hot on Final Fantasy titles anymore, as after the 16th mainline entry failed to hand the PS5 a chart-topping position, sales of the game have dropped considerably by 90 per cent. In its first week on the market, Final Fantasy XVI sold just over 336,000 physical copies. However, in...
News Final Fantasy 16 PS5 Update 1.03 Out Now, Get All the Patch Notes Here
Motion Blur toggle! New controller options! Camera sensitivity!
The first post-launch update for Final Fantasy XVI is available to download now on PS5, bringing the Square Enix title up to version number 1.000.003. The patch adds a couple of new features to the game like a motion blur toggle, another three controller layouts, and more extensive...
Monday3rd Jul 2023
News Final Fantasy 16 Is the Seventh Best Final Fantasy Game According to Fans
Early ratings are very positive
Final Fantasy 16 is less than a couple of weeks old at the time of writing this article, but it already seems to be highly rated amongst fans of the franchise. Regular readers may already know that we have a Best Final Fantasy Games list here on the site, which ranks every PlayStation Final Fantasy title based on user...
News Over 56% of Final Fantasy 16 UK Launch Sales Were Digital, But the Charts Only Count Physical
Half the story
Final Fantasy 16 dropped off the top spot of the UK sales charts this week, but as we've been saying for years now, the charts themselves rarely tell the whole story of a game's commercial success. This is because digital sales are only becoming more and more prevalent, and, frustratingly, the publicly released charts are based...
Friday30th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16 Is Overheating and Crashing PS5 Consoles Completely
Beware graphics mode
Well, it looks like Sqaure Enix has got some work to do with Final Fantasy 16. The action RPG, which released just over a week ago at the time of writing, appears to have a pretty serious crashing issue. And when we say serious, we mean it's straight up overheating PS5 consoles and completely shutting them down. This is...
Thursday29th Jun 2023
Random Final Fantasy 16 Actor Discovers Debauched Community's Thirsty Fan Fiction
Rule 34 strikes again
Perhaps just now becoming aware of that seemingly eternal adage of the Internet age, Final Fantasy XVI protagonist portrayer Ben Starr has apparently discovered the drawings and imagined extracurricular activities fans have been churning out of late. Now, we don't know exactly what Starr saw to elicit the response, but just...
Wednesday28th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16's Official Art Book Gets March 2024 Release Date
304 pages of cool pictures
Square Enix has revealed the release date for Final Fantasy 16's official art book, predictably titled 'The Art of Final Fantasy XVI'. It's hardcover, and it's got 304 pages featuring "hundreds of pieces of concept art and illustrations". The description also mentions sketches, which are always intriguing if you're...
News PS5 Exclusive Final Fantasy 16 Hits a Slightly Skewed 3 Million Sales at Launch
Misses out on series record
Update: Square Enix has officially confirmed the early reports from Japan, stating that Final Fantasy 16 has surpassed 3 million units through shipments and digital sales. Original Story: Final Fantasy 16 has already topped 3 million sales, early reports from Japan indicate (as per Gamer.ne.jp). It's not a truly...
Friday23rd Jun 2023
News Sony Spends a Fortune Getting an Assortment of Sports Stars to Explain Final Fantasy 16
George Kittle! Alessia Russo! Xavier Woods!
The most amusing thing about this Final Fantasy 16 trailer, aside from the random assortment of sports stars, is how it attempts to appeal to both Europeans and Americans simultaneously. It means there are some people you’ll recognise and others you probably won’t – it all largely depends on which...
Thursday22nd Jun 2023
News Full Final Fantasy 16 Takeover on PS Store for PS5 Launch
The big day
Sony continues to throw all of its marketing muscle behind the newly released Final Fantasy 16, as the PS Store has been reskinned to reflect the title’s arrival today. In addition to some eye-popping artwork, which takes up the entire upper-half of the PS5’s store, there are also appropriate links to the product pages for both the...
Wednesday21st Jun 2023
News First Final Fantasy 16 Review Awards a Near-Perfect Score
Famitsu has its say
The first PS5 review score for Final Fantasy XVI has been published online, by way of Japanese magazine Famitsu. The outlet awarded the Square Enix title a 39/40, with three reviewers handing the RPG a 10 and a fourth giving it a 9. More verdicts are expected to hit the Internet in the lead-up to tomorrow's launch. Reported by...
Tuesday20th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16 PS5 Pre-Load Available Now
Begin the big download
If you have pre-ordered a digital copy of Final Fantasy XVI via the PS Store, you should now be able to pre-load the PS5 title ahead of launch on 22nd June 2023. It's a big 90.131GB download, so you'll save tons of time by taking advantage of the option. The pre-load also includes the small 300MB day one patch, so you needn't...
News Final Fantasy 16's PS5 Marketing Hype Peaks with Official Exhibition at Tower of London
Real-life swordsmith spent months crafting replica
No expense has been spared for Final Fantasy 16’s all-encompassing marketing campaign, and with the PS5 console exclusive launching later this week, publisher Square Enix’s efforts have peaked. The Japanese juggernaut has partnered with the UK’s Royal Armouries – a world-famous museum that...
Monday19th Jun 2023
News Devil May Cry Designer Crafts Magnum Opus with Final Fantasy 16
Ryota Suzuki says it's his "personal masterpiece"
Ryota Suzuki is the battle director on Final Fantasy XVI, but before signing up with Square Enix, he spent more than two decades working on some seriously impressive action games for Capcom, like Devil May Cry 5, Dragon's Dogma, and Monster Hunter: World. Suzuki says that the next mainline entry...
Sunday18th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16's PS5 File Size Pegged At 90.1GB
Make space
Pre-loading for Final Fantasy 16 will begin on 20th June, and now we have word of the release’s file size. As shared on Twitter by PlayStation Game Size – a reliable account which scrapes Sony’s servers for information on upcoming games and patches – the hotly anticipated console exclusive action RPG will weigh in at 90.18GB in...
News Final Fantasy 16's Painterly Japanese Commercial Is Epic
Packing a punch
The Japanese commercial for Final Fantasy 16 goes hard – alarmingly so. This extended television spot features several renaissance (?) style paintings, which are animated in a kind of stop-motion style to bring them to life. While dramatic music plays in the background, a voiceover speaks in Japanese, presumably spouting deeply...
Saturday17th Jun 2023
News Just Like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Final Fantasy 16 Was Going to Ship on Two PS5 Discs
And it only changed at the last minute
Square Enix’s penchant for high quality, pre-rendered 4K cinematics means its games can seriously bloat in size. It was confirmed recently that next year’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will ship on two PS5 Blu-ray discs, and the same was almost true of Final Fantasy 16 – in fact, the developer was only able to...
News So, Final Fantasy 16 Will Have a Day One Patch on PS5 After All
Of course it will
After making a big song and dance about the fact that Final Fantasy 16 won’t have a day one patch – an admittedly uncommon scenario in 2023 – publisher Square Enix has since admitted there will actually be an update ahead of release. The patch, which will weigh in at around 300MB, will fix a minor progression issue, a few...
News Final Fantasy 16 Dev Pleads for Cooperation As PS5 Game Leaks
"We're in the process of a thorough investigation"
As we reported earlier in the week, Final Fantasy 16 copies have found their way into the hands of consumers ahead of next week’s release, and unfortunately spoilers are starting to circulate all over the web. This has prompted Square Enix to release a statement on the game’s official social...
Friday16th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16 Has Leaked One Week Early, and We've Already Seen Spoilers Online
Not like this
Final Fantasy XVI is still a week away from its release (at the time of writing this article), but some physical copies of the game appear to have gone public ahead of launch. Reports started spreading across social media earlier today (as covered by VGC), and we can confirm that the leaked images seem legitimate. Unfortunately, we've...
Thursday15th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16's New Trailer Is Here to Remind You It's a PS5 Exclusive for a Reason
Flagship new-gen features highlighted
Final Fantasy 16 has had no shortage of trailers in the lead up to its release, but this latest one exists to remind you the game is a PS5 console exclusive for a reason. Sony has obviously furnished publisher Square Enix with lots of cash, but that’s also resulted in a title that’s designed to take...
Wednesday14th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16's Demo Has Been a Huge Hit With PS5 Players
Clive out of Clive
The Final Fantasy XVI demo really seems to have struck a chord with those who have played it. Offering up over two hours of gameplay through the title's prologue chapter — and topping things off with a special combat-based mode — the demo feedback we've seen has been incredibly positive overall. A quick Google search reveals...
Monday12th Jun 2023
News Kingdom Hearts, NieR Automata Teams Assisted on Final Fantasy 16 for PS5
Calling in the big guns
We know that Sony has helped Square Enix optimise Final Fantasy 16 for the PS5, and now we have confirmation that both PlatinumGames and also SE Creative Business Unit 1 were involved. During yesterday’s pre-launch livestream, it was confirmed that Takahisa Taura of NieR Automata fame led a team from within PlatinumGames to...
News PS5's Final Fantasy 16 Marketing Onslaught Has Started with Sick London Buses
The marketing wheels go round
Sony may be frustrating beyond belief at times, but when it’s got a big game in its portfolio, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s going to make sure you know about it. Final Fantasy 16 is the next major PS5 console exclusive on the horizon, and with the release of today’s demo, the marketing onslaught is well...
News Final Fantasy 16 Demo Out Now on PS5, Progress Carries Over to the Full Game
Over two hours of gameplay
The highly anticipated demo for Final Fantasy XVI is out right now on PS5, giving everyone a chance to play through a generous chunk of the game's opening act ahead of its full release on the 22nd June. Just to be clear, the exact launch time for the demo is 9AM BST / 10AM CEST / 1AM PT / 4AM ET on the 12th June (today, at...
Thursday8th Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth PS5 Gameplay at Summer Game Fest? Nomura Promises More Soon
Latest daily update is light on details
Square Enix’s week-long trolling exercise appears to have concluded with the vaguest Twitter update on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth yet: “More information will be revealed soon.” That it! That’s the sole confirmation from creative director Tetsuya Nomura, following previous Earth-shattering reveals about...
News Square Enix Doesn't Think You've Seen Enough Final Fantasy 16 PS5 Gameplay
Make them stop
At this point, Square Enix appears to have taken several chapters out of the Jim Ryan Marketing Playbook, inundating fans with so much Final Fantasy XVI gameplay it appears that the Japanese firm aims to achieve Total Mindshare. Despite politely requesting an end
Saturday3rd Jun 2023
News Square Enix Allegedly 'Slightly Panicking' About Final Fantasy 16 PS5 Pre-Orders
Apparently tracking behind Final Fantasy 15
We’ve played quite a lot of Final Fantasy 16 now at various preview events, and as we’ve described it in past write-ups, we believe it’s going to end up a bonafide Game of the Year contender. However, there are the slightest rumbles beginning to
Friday2nd Jun 2023
News Final Fantasy 16's Liquid Flame Boss Battle on PS5 Will Melt Your Eyes
Ifrit, eat your heart out
It's been nine long years since the launch of the last mainline Final Fantasy game, and the anticipation for Final Fantasy XVI (launching 22nd June on PS5) is becoming an all-consuming conflagration. Dumping further fuel on the flames (pardon the pun), Square Enix, via IGN's First series, has debuted some scintillating new...
