Square Enix has taken some major steps to ensure Final Fantasy XVI is a complete experience at launch. Director Hiroshi Takai and Producer Naoki Yoshida shared some insight into developer Creative Business Unit III’s strategies during an interview with Game Informer. For starters, Final Fantasy XVI won’t need a day-one patch because it already runs well. Yoshida also shared that the team has no plans to develop any DLC for FF16, nor do they plan to create any tie-in content, such as Final Fantasy XV’s star-studded movie spinoff, Kingsglaive.
“It’s a one-off game,” Yoshida said. “We’re asking players to pay the full price for this experience, and so we want an experience that’s going to equal the amount of money that players are going to be paying and we want them to have satisfaction equal to what they paid or even more than that.”
It’s a refreshing stance on paid add-on content, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that Square Enix is completely against DLC. After all, recent entries in the series like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XV both received substantial add-ons long after launch. Instead of planning DLC right out of the gate, Yoshida is waiting to see how fans respond to the world of FF16.
“We have no idea if people are going to fall in love with Valisthea and fall in love with Clive’s story and want to see more of the world and more of its characters,” Yoshida added. “So while we always want to consider DLC or spinoffs or those types of things where you can learn more about the game, first we want to see if Valisthea and Clive are really things players around the world want to see more of and then make that decision.”
Adding to signs that Final Fantasy XVI will have a particularly polished launch is the news that it will release without a day-one patch. Many games, especially in the AAA space, often release with massive downloads to address potential lingering game-breaking bugs or glitches, but the team on this latest Square Enix title is so confident in their work that they say a day-one patch just isn’t necessary. To put even more concerns to rest, Takai reassured fans that the developers are working around the clock to polish and test for bugs. So, while things could change, don’t expect to spend launch day downloading a massive update.
It’s a bit of a thrill to see Square Enix so confident in Final Fantasy XVI after the long wait for its launch. We’ll get to see how it all shakes out when the game launches for PlayStation 5 on June 22.
