It is not surprising that Square Enix and Sony have rekindled their relationship as a major Final Fantasy launch will be a Playstation 5 exclusive, but it seems that the days of the original Final Fantasy VII are long gone and Final Fantasy XVI is not on PS5 forever.

Sony itself revealed the detail that Final Fantasy XVI is a timed-exclusive for PS5 in the latest promo published in Twitter (circa mark 0:14-0:15).

We knew that the game was not completely exclusive for PS5 but the duration of the exclusivity is what many were wondering as some would like to try the game on other platforms, mainly on PC.

Also, it is no secret that the game was already hinted to be bound for PC, a reference that was quickly retired from the promo of Square Enix of late 2020 and probably  a “Integrade” version or a fully patched Final Fantasy XIV could be in order for any point in 2024.

Final Fantasy XVI will officially arrive during Summer 2023 centered on the world known as Valisthea, where the people live comfortably thanks to mountains of crystal called the Mothercrystals. The world is controlled by six factions: the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Iron Kingdom, and the Crystalline Dominion. A central part of the plot are the Eikons, summoned monsters controlled by or manifesting through humans called Dominants.

The main cast includes Clive Rosfield, Joshua Rosfield, and Jill Warrick. Clive is the firstborn child of the Archduke of Rosaria who embarks on a quest for revenge after tragic events involving the dark Eikon Ifrit. Joshua Rosfield, Clive's younger brother, is the Dominant of the Eikon Phoenix and heir apparent to Rosaria. Jill Warrick, a girl from the fallen Northern Territories is Clive and Joshua's foster sister and confidant. 

Mechanic will share most of what we had been introduced so far on FFXV which include Clive's fighting abilities using a combination of melee-based sword attacks and magical abilities, as well RPG driven development of Clive.

This time, the summoned monsters are called Eikons and so far confirmed are the Final Fantasy Heavyweights veterans like Odin, Bahamut, and Ifrit.

The game is expected to be released between late July to late September as per Square Enix usage of “Summer 2023”, but latest rumors suggest that Square Enix could announce the official release date as soon as the Holidays seasons as the game was as of last week, at 95% of completion.