Square Enix has revealed that Final Fantasy 16 was only made possible thanks to the PlayStation 5. Despite fans already clamouring for a PC release, Square Enix has revealed that Sony’s console has been essential to the RPG’s development.
GamesRadar spoke with Ryoka Suzuki, the game’s director, who claims the upcoming RPG would still be in “full development” if not for the PS5. The developer went on to praise Sony’s console for its stellar hardware, which made making the game easier.
“If we didn't have the memory that the PlayStation 5 has and also the transfer speed, the SSD that the PlayStation 5 has, we would still be in development right now,” director Ryota Suzuki says.
Apparently, the PS5 is why the combat of Final Fantasy 16 is going to flow smoothly, at least according to Suzuki. Discussing how the player will be able to change combat styles on the go, Suzuki claims developing this would be taxing for most hardware. However, Sony’s almighty console is more than ready to handle it.
“You are graphically representing the fists, and the claws, and the wings, all in real-time and all in these beautiful graphics and having all of these different options, but to be able to do all of those seamlessly without any load times is possible because of the power of the PS5,” Suzuki explains.
While PC owners wish Final Fantasy 16 would launch alongside the PS5 version, it’s not the biggest surprise. Most of Square Enix’s games go through PlayStation before getting ported, as Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Kingdom Hearts 3 shows. There have been exceptions like the recent remaster of Crisis Core, but Square Enix usually makes PlayStation a priority.
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Regardless of all that, Final Fantasy 16 looks like a promising installment in this long-running franchise. The combat looks fun, the story is dark, and the setting has gone back to a more medieval theme, albeit with summons and Chocobo. Square Enix will release the game on June 22 for PS5, with the PC version likely coming a year later.