Czarina Grace Games 12.27.2021 22:Dec PM EST

'Final Fantasy 16' Release Date Gets Bad News: Why Is It Delayed, When Will It Launch Now?

"Final Fantasy 16" fans have been waiting for years now for the the game, but unfortunately, they'll have to wait for six months more.

Game producer Naoki Yoshida tweeted an apology and update that the "Final Fantasy 16" release date would be pushed back to the middle of next year.

A year ago, Square Enix released the announcement trailer for "Final Fantasy 16." Many fans were hyped for this latest installment, calling it a game that brought back the fantasy theme instead of the heavy mechanical weaponry featured in its predecessors.

The video reveal for the game is embedded below.

Fans waited patiently for the game, especially since developers promised a debut by the end of 2021. However, instead of a presale announcement, gamers received a disappointing update.

Square Enix Update: Naoki Yoshida Message

The official "Final Fantasy 16" Twitter page posted "a message from the producer" on Monday evening. Yoshida emphasized that the game suffered major drawbacks due to COVID-19 issues.

Twitter Error

According to TechRadar report Naoki Yoshida said, "complications from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have delayed the game's development by almost half a year." Yoshida also explained that "this has unfortunately hampered communication from the Tokyo office, which, in turn, has led to delays in - or in extreme cases, cancellations of - asset deliveries from our outsource partners."

Resources that suffered major delay are the game's graphics resource quality, combat mechanics, individual battles, cutscene rendering and overall graphical optimization. In quick summary, the game is not yet polished and ready for release.

Yoshida also expressed the team's apologies for the inconvenience and their thanks to the fans who continues to support them.

'Final Fantasy 16' Release Date: Mid-2022

However, not everything about the message is bad news. Yoshida said their team is currently adapting to their new change in working situation. In fact, they even managed to draft a new plan for the game release, with its "next big reveal" coming out in spring 2022.

The team hopes the fans' excitement would be properly linked to the eventual release, which implies a launch date sometime in fall 2022. Be warned that the dates are tentative and subject to change.

It is worth noting that TechRadar proposed a different release date for "Final Fantasy 16." They noticed that "Final Fantasy" main games typically have seven years between release, like the "Final Fantasy XIII" which was released in 2009, and "Final Fantasy XV" released in 2016. Note that "Final Fantasy XIV" is not counted because it falls under a different niche.

Following this train of thought, "Final Fantasy 16" might be released sometime in 2023 or 2024. However, these dates are strictly speculations, so readers are advised to take in this information with a pinch of salt.

Although the wait is a little longer, there would definitely be a few updates to look forward to in 2022. For now, fans just have to sit in tight and wait.