Is 'Final Fantasy XVI' Coming to Xbox? Here's What We Know so Far

The next chapter of the classic franchise is on its way with the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XVI. The game was previously announced in 2020 and is coming to next-gen consoles. While there's been little news on the game since its initial unveiling, we do know that as of writing, the game is entering its final stages of development. We can't wait to get our hands on the game, but is Final Fantasy XVI coming to Xbox? If anything, it might not come out on those consoles right away.

Final Fantasy XVI takes place in the fantasy world of Valisthea, a land that survives with the magic of the Mothercrystals. Six different factions rule over Valisthea, but civil war threatens to tear them apart. Clive Rosfield, a royal child of the nation of Rosaria, embarks on a quest for vengeance after the beast Ifrit devastates his life. There's little we know about gameplay, but what do we know about which consoles the game will be on? As far as we know, it will be a timed exclusive.

Though previous mainline Final Fantasy titles have been closely associated with the PlayStation brand, many of the franchise's later numbered games have gone cross-platform. The first to do so was Final Fantasy XIII, which was released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the U.S. in 2010. Final Fantasy XIV is an ongoing MMORPG that was initially released on PC and on PlayStation 3 in 2013. 2016's Final Fantasy XV was originally released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016.

That, combined with the franchise's many spinoffs and remasters released on various consoles, suggests that XVI is poised to appear on multiple systems. But if it is, it won't be at launch. As of writing, Final Fantasy XVI will only be released on the PlayStation 5. This would make it one of very few true console exclusives of the current gaming generation. The game will reportedly not be backwards compatible with the PlayStation 4.

The game was officially unveiled during a Sony livestream event in 2020. The trailer came during the conference in which the final design of the PlayStation 5 was revealed to the world. As of now, PlayStation 5 will be the only place to play Final Fantasy XVI at launch. An Xbox version seems to be off the table, but that doesn't mean it won't ever happen.

A fan on Twitter has previously posited that the game will be a timed exclusive for the PlayStation 5. A timed exclusive refers to a game that will only be on one console for a set period of time before it will appear on other systems. For example, Final Fantasy VII Remake was a timed exclusive for the PS4. The game was released in 2020 only on the PlayStation 4, but it would appear on PC and PlayStation 5 in 2021.

Final Fantasy XVI looks to follow in the footsteps of FFVIIR. The trailer itself even states that the game will "not [be] available on other platforms for a limited time after release on PS5." It's likely that the game will arrive on other consoles at some point in the future, but whether or not it will appear on any Xbox systems remains to be seen.