Final Fantasy XVI is an epic adventure in its own right, but fans hungry for more Clive and company might be disappointed to learn the development team has already disbanded. Aside from a small team working on the upcoming DLC The Rising Tide, the evocatively named Square Enix Creative Business Unit III, helmed by Naoki Yoshida, has already moved on to whatever comes next.
This makes the prospect of direct sequels or spin-off titles, a practice the Final Fantasy series has increasingly dabbled with in recent years, highly unlikely. Fans have long endured this process, beginning with instigator Final Fantasy X-2, then Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and then the entire XIII trilogy. Final Fantasy XV even launched alongside and accompanying 2D brawler, A Kings's Tale, so all bets are off now.
Speaking to Famitsu (via MP1st, thanks PSLS), producer Naoki Yoshida discussed the future of the Final Fantasy franchise: "The development team for FF16 has been disbanded, except for the main DLC team, but at least we don't envision us creating a sequel or spin-off to FF16. I have accumulated a lot of knowledge from FF16. Rather than continuing with one title forever, I would like to use that knowledge to consider new challenges, such as the next title."
Yoshida also let slip that The Rising Tide will be a meatier offering than Echoes of the Fallen, offering players around 10 hours of content. Are you excited that the team has moved on to what comes next, presumably Final Fantasy XVII, the first time in the series' long history that four Roman numerals are required in the title? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source famitsu.com]
Comments 40
Not surprised but also happy about it. I love FF XVI but the ending was such a great and final (pun intended) way to end it. The characters all had growth, had their moments and it would be a disservice to dampen that with spinoffs and sequels that may or may not live up to expectations. Yoshida is also a very creative fellow, so I don’t really see him being all that interested in milking the same thing forever. Excited for The Rising Tide and whatever’s next!
If they're going to remake Final Fantasy IX, then I hope it'll this team, that does it!
Probably for the best. FFXV was alright but it was also a millstone round Squeenix’s neck for years. Took years to finally move on. Probably better this is over after a normal dev cycle.
This is a smart decision. FF XVI is incredible but also complete. I’d ultimately rather see a new world, new characters and new systems. As XVI proved, this well is far from plundered.
Good decision.
Im honestly perfect with that. As much as I would like a sequel or a spin off, the ending of FF16 would be ruined by it so I'm happy! Although I know some complainers will be happy for other reasons lol
I’m not the biggest fan of FF16 but it’s a shame that we might not see what improvements they could’ve made for a sequel.
What little more they could really do with XVI (leviathan) they seem to already be doing with it in the dlc so I guess it's time to move on.
I really enjoyed it overall but I'm sad they didn't flesh out a lot of the key players as much as they needed to
@Suppressed No way! I don't want my favorite Final Fantasy game to turn into an action Devil May Cry style. Classic turn based or lile FF7 remake would work alot better
Hats off to Creative Business Unit 3!
The only other tie-in that makes a ton of sense to me is a prequel game with Cid. It would be cool I bet but it’s really not necessary.
Oh man... can't help but be a bit sad that is the final ending (sorry i like happy endings ). But, it's alright.
Btw the team didn't disband, the game development ended on FFXVI. They have more FFXIV to work on with dawntrail.
I do hope they don't make anymore side projects like this. It really impacted the FFXIV content cadence.
Good. Ff16 is just an generic action game with the ff logo slapped upon it.
“moved on to whatever comes next” Dude it’s not a mystery; they are working on Dawntrail.
What, you mean no schlocky action shoot-em-up with Torgel and his team of b*tches?! Golden opportunity missed. But also probably generally a good idea.
I’m a bit torn in this one, as while it didn’t necessarily end up being my favorite modern FF, I enjoyed 16 and I was surprised of how much I enjoyed playing through the echoes of the fallen dlc…I wouldn’t mind a couple more side stories in Valistea but I’m also curious to find out what’s next for the series.
"(...)presumably Final Fantasy XVII, the first time in the series' long history that four Roman numerals are required in the title?"
XIII says otherwise. So does VIII.
Anyway, I'm fine with Rising Tide being the last thing we get on FFXVI as I think it's a pretty complete story and world as is. On the other hand, it's a bit sad that this quick disbandment is probably related to 'disappointing' sales performance rather than what the team envisioned would happen from the start. Yoshida feels a lot less enthusiastic about his game in this interview.
Great, move on and create a FF games that actually feels like a FF game from a gameplay perspective, not just aesthetics.
Ff16 was complete.
The only truth about FF games is that its always changing, so its quite proper that they now move on to a new one.
I really appreciated 16, especially the story telling. It will be excellent to see where they take the franchise now.
Can anyone explain to me why FF13 got so much hate for being a long hallway, yet this game gets all the praise in the world? At least in FF13 there was some semblance of difficulty to keep me entertained. This felt very much like the Japanese Witcher rollercoaster ride for kids.
So yes, glad to see them move on!
Good, finish one project and move on to other stuff. Keeps the creative juices flowing.
While there is a lot of stuff they could have covered with more DLC if they wanted I don't think a sequel would be necessary. XVI was a complete story so moving on is fine.
@PinderSchloss - People were asking the same question, but comparing XIII with X, and the answer in both cases is the same; X and XVI are not just endless corridors, whereas XIII, until you escape to Pulse, is. With XVI, you have a hub you regularly go back to, wide fields you can run around in to break up the linear structure, and the ability to revisit old areas, where you can talk to residents and take on side quests. None of this is in XIII; instead, with one or two exceptions, you have nothing to do but move forward to the next cutscene. That’s why it gets a lot of flak, while XVI doesn’t (at least not for that anyway).
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Surprised to hear they’ve already moved on, but then again, from what I understand, they were only put together because everyone else was busy, so there probably wasn’t much thought put into any post-XVI plans.
Be interesting to see which direction the next game takes, and whether/how much this “accumulated experience “ ends up factoring into it. Hopefully at the very least we’ll get to control more than one character, because that’s one of my favourite aspects of FF games, yet it hasn’t been a thing in mainline games since XIII.
I really like FF16 but the story doesn't feel that complete. Seems that they really didn't know how they wanted the game to end. As for a possible sequel I would like to see what is there beyond the ocean but I would much prefer a new FF17.
Great. Too many spinoffs dilute the brand. Focus on making the best mainline entries you can.
I guess this means there’s not an Xbox port in the works.
Thank goodness game of thrones lite is to be retired. I liked the dmc fighting but beyond that and it's pretty looks that game was shallow af.
Great to hear. I've definitely enjoyed XVI very much overall, but we've had plenty enough of the sequelization and expansion of new FF entries over the preceding handful of titles, thank you very much. One and done is great, and another welcome throwback to the older games in the series.
Very curious about the line in it with new challenges in the next game in the series. That suggests that CBU3 will handle the next one, as well, but is far from confirmation. I certainly don't hate the idea, although I will be a little surprised if it's actually called Final Fantasy XVII. We have at least a few years until then, though.
Sequels are something fans "endure" now? Then that's an extra reason to have more of them, facilitating the everwelcome process of gradual fandom dissolution. Emphasis on "extra", of course - such factors rarely do well as the sole core of authorial or production intent at hand.
@Th3solution
Not necessarily. Another team could do the port work. I'm more curious who is working on the upcoming DLC!
@TheCollector316 Yeah I guess the ports to PC and Xbox could be handled by another team. Regarding the DLC, he did say, “The development team for FF16 has been disbanded, except for the main DLC team…” So there’s some of the original team left behind to do that.
One and done is OK for a game especially as long as one as ff16 the dlc adds alot as well so I'm glad there working on something new
Will forever love and be grateful for this game. Excited to see what's next!
Final Fantasy XVII will be the FIRST TIME in the series long history to include four roman numerals in the title!
Yes, except:
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII-2
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
So no.
Final Fantasy's VIII and XIII (as well as XIII's sequels) all had 4 roman numerals in their name.
This is how FF should be. All this prequels and sequels and side stories just dilute the brand. Create a new world,. Create some great characters, port the fan favourites like cid over , tell us their story, move on to the next world. Simple. Square Enix has complicated and diluted ff brand way to much over the years.
Onwards to ff17 .
@Th3solution or not. Given Sony investment in FF, I wouldn't plan on playing it on anything other PS5 for a long time.
@PinderSchloss The people of FF13 still remembered the glory days of FF7, FF8 FF9, by FF13 we were angry that Square Enix screwed up such a brilliant run of games. By FF16 we have accepted the simple fact that we are never going back to those glory days.
For me it's Bad News because it likely means the promised 60 FPS Performance Mode FIX that was promised to us since BEFORE LAUNCH when the Demo was released - a Fix that never arrived...
Additionally, a 40 FPS 120Hz Mode would have transformed this game into a Visual Masterpiece. I've been advocating 40 FPS 120 Hz Graphics Mode VRR Patch - to solve the 30 vs stutterfest issues - once and for all!
For me the best FF combat system was FF12. I'd like to see a new FF game go back to the team format with multiple characters to choose from but use FF12s elegantly designed combat system.
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