2021 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Final Fantasy franchise. A recent interview revealed big announcements are on the way for both Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16.
Part of a year-end feature via Famitsu, the developers at Square Enix discussed their various plans for 2021. The game studio's year has been a bit of a mixed bag. Although Final Fantasy 7 Remake is seeing critical and commercial success, Square Enix has yet to recoup its losses from Marvel's Avengers.
While the feature covers several of Square Enix's developers, Final Fantasy 14 producer Naoki Yoshida's interview is arguably the most revealing. Yoshida is teasing multiple announcements in 2021 for both the popular MMO game and Final Fantasy 16, the series' upcoming main entry. The developer is already claiming 2021 to be one of the busiest-ever years of his career. "2021 will be the busiest year of [his] career." Yoshida said. "I’d like to make it a year in which I can deliver surprise and excitement to gamers and players, while also paying attention to my health."
The developer further added gamers should look forward to announcements for Final Fantasy 14 and 16 in the coming months. Although there weren't any details given on what those announcements could be, many gamers are fairly certain of at least one of them. The November Final Fantasy 14 Letter to the Producer livestream revealed that a showcase is planned for February 2021. However, what the showcase entails remains a mystery. For Final Fantasy 16, many fans are theorizing that these announcements include a full, detailed reveal of the game.
This year, Square Enix released a remastered edition of its 2004 classic, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Final Fantasy 14 saw its largest-ever update for its Shadowbringers expansion in the form of Patch 5.4. In addition, gamers finally saw the release of the highly anticipated Final Fantasy 7 Remake after a lengthy development process. Fortunately, it appears that the Final Fantasy 7 remake's second installment is well on its way to completion. It's likely new info for Final Fantasy 7, 14, and 16 are all coming in the next several months.
While the new tidbits of info from the series' producers might be a bit on the vague side, there's at least the knowledge that plenty of new Final Fantasy content is on the horizon. Although all of the planned announcements aren't until next year, there are still new events happening right now.Final Fantasy 14's annual New Year's Day event, Heavensturn, begins on December 31. Although technically not Final Fantasy 7, the recent addition of Sephiroth as the latest Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighter is letting players write their own conclusion to that fateful battle at Shinra headquarters.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC. Final Fantasy 16 is currently in development.
Source: Famitsu ( via ComicBook)