Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake are finally on Xbox, but is it too late?

At today’s Xbox Showcase, Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy 16 is finally available right now on Xbox. Further, Final Fantasy 7 Remake will also make its way to the platform this winter.

The Xbox release of Final Fantasy 16 comes two years after its release on PS5 as a console exclusive, before also arriving on PC last year. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, meanwhile, arrives five years after its original PS4 release, which was followed by its PS5 re-release, PC release, and the release of sequel Rebirth.

It’s all part of Square Enix’s multiplatform strategy it began “aggressively pursuing” last year, in a move to “diversify earnings opportunities”. But are these games arriving on Xbox too late?

Final Fantasy 16 Xbox reveal trailerWatch on YouTube

Anecdotally, there have certainly been plenty of calls from Xbox players to have these games available on Microsoft’s platform. And a wider release means wider access to games and more sales, so it certainly makes business sense. Their arrival at last has felt like an inevitability for some time – Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida even stated he was keen on an Xbox release.

Yet Square Enix – and more specifically, the Final Fantasy series – has a storied history with both Sony and Nintendo, which is why these companies have been favoured in the past. Traditionally, Xbox hasn’t sold well in Japan (arguably because it’s an American product) and that in turn meant a lack of Japanese-made games – and crucially Japanese RPGs – on those consoles.

Yet Microsoft seems keen to change that perspective. Beyond the likes of Xbox 360-exclusive Lost Odyssey from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, the company has been flirting more and more with the Japanese market. Just last year, it had a livestream at the Tokyo Game Show where it announced Square Enix’s Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters would at long last be arriving on Xbox consoles. “Our partnership with Square Enix is stronger than ever,” boasted Sarah Bond, president of Xbox, at the time.

And that followed the addition of MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 to Xbox consoles. This was announced in Las Vegas at the Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest, where Xbox boss Phil Spencer joined Yoshida on stage to reveal the news. Spencer described the partnership as a “seminal” moment.

Dawntrail was the first FF14 expansion released simultaneously on Xbox | Image credit: Eurogamer / Square Enix

Speaking to Eurogamer after the release of FF14 expansion Dawntrail, Yoshida said players had been “waiting a long time for the Xbox release” and that it had “a really strong response” with the community growing.

He continued: “With Final Fantasy 14 as an opportunity, we can take this opportunity to strengthen the community on Xbox towards the Final Fantasy franchise. I think this is where we would take more communication and work on establishing the community moving forward. And this is important, not for Final Fantasy 14, but, I would say, for Square Enix. With Final Fantasy 14’s release on Xbox, Phil Spencer spent a lot of his time and a lot of effort and put in a lot of hard work into making it a reality. So we would like to make the best of that and further deepen the relationship with Xbox gamers moving forward.”

Yoshida even acknowledged “the Final Fantasy fanbase on Xbox has reduced” following the release of Final Fantasy 15 back in 2016, considering later games haven’t appeared on Xbox. That game remains the fastest-selling game in series history, and is its fifth highest-selling overall. Why? It’s the only mainline game in the series to be released simultaneously on Xbox and PlayStation.

Indeed, it always comes down to money. While neither company has released direct numbers of Xbox players in Final Fantasy 14 or the Pixel Remasters, both games are regularly cited as having strong sales in Square Enix’s financial reports. Their respective Xbox releases must at least have given some sort of boost. What’s more, the response to Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake on PC proves there is at least an audience for these games outside of PlayStation and Nintendo.

As such, there’s no doubt releasing Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Xbox will extend the sales tail of these games. There’s certainly an audience for them and both Xbox and Square Enix seem keen to strengthen their working relationship in a bid to increase both profits and reputation.

But this news isn’t quite a silver bullet to turn around Square Enix’s fortunes of its games not meeting expectations. Instead, it’s still playing catch up on possible sales. Really it should be taking inspiration from its biggest previous launches and go all-in on multiplatform support from the start. Bring on Final Fantasy 17.