Final Fantasy 16 producer and 14 director Naoki Yoshida has mentioned Square Enix is trying to double down on Xbox releases, after its focus on PlayStation exclusivity led to a monetary dip.
Yoshida advised Eurogamer that Final Fantasy 14’s current launch on Xbox was met with a “actually sturdy response” and is simply the “place to begin” for extra Square Enix video games to launch on the platform.
“With Final Fantasy 14’s launch on Xbox, (*14*) Phil Spencer spent lots of his time and lots of effort and put in lots of exhausting work into making it a actuality,” Yoshida mentioned. “So we wish to make one of the best of that and additional deepen the connection with Xbox avid gamers transferring ahead.”
Xbox has traditionally struggled to breach the Japanese online game market, the place its two greatest rivals PlayStation and Nintendo are primarily based, and Yoshida mentioned this may dissuade Japanese builders from focusing on Xbox as a platform.
“Nevertheless, at Square Enix, now we have been altering our coverage,” he continued. “So now we’re transferring in the direction of the coverage of releasing our video games on a multiplatform foundation, and we actually need as many gamers as attainable to play our titles.
“With Final Fantasy 14 as the start line, we do need to launch extra Square Enix video games on Xbox, and there might be extra of our titles launched on Xbox. So I hope gamers will look ahead to future issues to come on the platform.”
This shift in technique arrived after an enormous fall in earnings was revealed in Could 2024, when Square Enix declared it might “shift to a multiplatform technique” by means of a 3 yr plan to reboot the corporate.
Although a number of video games have arrived on Xbox and Nintendo platforms through the years, PlayStation has been a spotlight for Square Enix because it’s launched the likes of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy and Final Fantasy 16 on PlayStation solely. Each of those have been properly acquired however failed to meet monetary expectations.
Final Fantasy 16 was lastly formally introduced for PC after lots of backwards and forwards, nonetheless, with a September 17, 2024 launch date. Director Hiroshi Takai lately echoed Yoshida’s feedback too, by saying future video games within the franchise will “probably” come to PC at launch.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll discuss The Witcher all day.