Final Fantasy 16 Six-Month PS5 Exclusivity Window Confirmed By Sony

We know what their 6 month exclusivity means lol

I wonder whether Phil Spencer will go to the EU to complain and cry in his cornflakes about this oh that's only Sony who do that.

Maybe Phil should bitch a fit you know since....it's unfair to gamers and a monopoly and all that jazz. Sony just loves do it. But omg if do it back to Sony.

Of course I shouldn't have time to notice since I'm busy playing Spider-Man in the Avengers game. Oh, wait..........

Just another sign of Sony's hypocrisy.

Hopefully FF7 remake case won't repeat itself

It's a forever console exclusive. Never coming to Xbox

@Widey85 This isn't a universal opinion but I don't think they've even made a really good final fantasy since 9

I wouldn’t hold my breath of this ever making it to Xbox just like FF7R.

I’ll be honest, I thought FF7R was absolute garbage and ruined the legacy of a classic and from what I’ve seen of FF16 it’s FF just in name. There was a time I was excited for FF games, now I just don’t care.

So that means it's coming to pc after 6 months then, it's a new numbered final fantasy so I think it will come to xbox unlike FF7 remake.

Quite looking forward to the game myself, looks way better than 15 and the world setting looks terrific.

Not really that fussed tbh. The only FF game I would be excited for is 14, the mmo.

The rest of the main stream FF games lost their way years ago and haven't had the spark of greatness for a long while.

Seeing nothing about 16 that says that is going to change this go around

@Dr_Luigi

The value of Activision Blizzard will be added to the value of MS as a company albeit not the full $70bn and this grows MS and pushes their value up.

Almost entirely correct but minor nitpick: this grows the value of Microsoft's assets. That in turn could increase their own value up, but not necessarily, because the stock market is all about speculation on future growth, not about current asset ownership. There even been times when Apple, for example, had more "money" (between cash and assets) than it was worth on its market cap.

But yes, MS does not have to make a penny back, all it needs to do is be able to get enough revenue from AB post-acquisition to cover the expenses of running all those studios. So long they, at least, break even, they are in good shape.

@Kaloudz

Thinking about it though, isn't 6 months quite short for Sony, going off previous window lengths?

It is rare for Sony to do 6 month exclusivity windows, but it is also rare for them to do total exclusivity windows that force PC to also wait. There is a chance that the cost of demanding full exclusivity was too much for them to secure anything longer, or there is also a chance they got 6 months total exclusivity + 6 additional months of console exclusivity. Can never be sure what their stance on console exclusivity will be.

The fact that the game was revealed to be coming to PC at launch, though, makes it sound to me like the PC exclusivity thing was secured very late, and likely is an independent window.

On the topic of this game: I own a PS5, mostly for first party exclusives. Deals like this annoy the hell out of me, as much as deals like Tomb Rider annoyed me last gen when I had both, a PS4 and a XBO, but wanted to play primarily on my PS4.

I will always wait and play the game on my platform of choice, if there seems to be a thing coming forward. I also always tend to prefer playing on console than PC, so I am unlikely to be buying any Sony first party games on PC. But this annoys me so much, that I might actually just walk away and buy FFXVI on PC rather than PS5 if it's not also on XBox at the same time it hits PC.

Sony = Anti-Consumer

If you want to play FPSes and western RPGs (along with anything Activison or Bethesda), you get an Xbox.

If you want to play JRPGS, Japanese-gaming fare, or big narrative-driven AAAs, you get a PS5.

Fanboys from both MS and Sony are making this into a bigger thing than it is. MS buying up publishers is likely to push Sony to sign more exclusives, since they don't have the pocketbook to do the same. Which in turn will encourage MS to buy another giant publisher again, and the cycle repeats. Neither console is going to have everything you want, so it's better to either buy in a way that aligns with your tastes or get both consoles (if financially possible).

@Kaloudz

Thinking about it though, isn't 6 months quite short for Sony, going off previous window lengths?

No, not at all when the exclusivity period can be prolonged ad infinitum, at least on rival consoles. I actually think this might be an intentional strategy on Sony’s part to avoid backlash(or most of it), mention 6 months then just keep topping it up, see FF7 remake etc.

I have got to say. I am not bothered as I cannot stand JRPG games. I have played 10 minutes of a ff game and deleted it straight away. Same as with nintendo I do not like Zelda games. These are the PS exclusives I'm not bothered by. I do love uncharted and spiderman as well as forbidden West and God of war. I would prefer forza horizon over all these and that's why I'm happy with the xbox this gen.

@Snake_V5

Remember guys...

Xbox will always forever walk in PlayStation shadows...

Except when it comes to the entirety of Bethesda's future output and if and when ABK gets finalised all their catalogue. Except of course for COD.
....shadows are not a one way street.

@Tharsman Intergrade was PS5 in June 2021, Epic Game Store in December 2021 and Steam in June 2022 so I'd guess FF16 and FF7 Rebirth will be the same gap between platform releases.

@Snake_V5

Erm... none of there games even compare to PlayStation exclusives, no one makes games like Sony PlayStation does.

If you throw objectivity out of the proverbial window, then you might have a point, otherwise is just your opinion nothing more.

And it is a one way street, PlayStation has always lead, Xbox has always followed.

Ahem, sure 😏.

@Sol4ris It's not an opinion though is it? I mean, most people know this it's what PlayStation is known for and we all can't be wrong can we for it to be known as just one person's opinion.

Anyway, I'm not arguing here.

@Snake_V5 meh. The PlayStation brand of game making is quite over-stated, IMO.

Not saying they don't make some great games, but they have a very obvious niche. They are only truly known for third person story heavy games.

Every time Sony (even when it's the above studios) try to do something that is not a third person story heavy adventure game, it fades into obscurity fast. Only hardcore fans care about GT7 anymore. Their shooters never really took off, and their platformer/family friendly games have ranged from duds to quickly forgotten, and so far none of their first party service games have gained any traction.

Ghost of Tsushima, Uncharted, TLOU, Spider-Man, GoW, Horizon. Thats it. There are some licensed/contracted outside offshoots like Bloodborne and Nioh, but that's not PlayStation Studios (at least not until they decide to open their checkbooks and buy them into the family.)

Mind you, I say this as someone that owns games like Knack, Rift Apart and Sackboy Adventures.

As much as I enjoy Sony games, I spend a lot more time playing games like Fallout, Skyrim, Doom and Wolfenstein than I spend on Sony games. Hell, Skyrim alone I think I sunk more time on than all PS4 first party games combined. I predict, for me, Starfield will end up being my most played game of the generation.

@Tharsman I can see why, Skyrim and Starfield are quite similar. If you like Skyrim then Starfield should be good.

@themightyant I think Xbox simply avoid locking down triple A temporary exclusives because it does not yield enough bang for the buck. I don't think it adds much value to PlayStation users either, although it does create something that is hard to measure, since it generates a perception that the "most acclaimed games" are PlayStation games first.

@Snake_V5 too bad only about 20% of PlayStation owners buy those exclusives.

At this point, I'm ok with this and FF7 Remake never coming. It's fine. What isn't ok, and what is just patently wrong, is Square refusing to simply SAY that they aren't coming. If Sony wrote some gigantic checks, fair enough, that's the business, but to refuse to openly state that the games aren't coming seems like an underhanded way to avoid making gamers angry by trying to give them hope that maybe someday...

Judging by the fact we dont even have FF7R yet I wouldnt hold your breath.

@Snake_V5

And it is a one way street, PlayStation has always lead, Xbox has always followed.

Replying to this point late: this is objectively wrong.
•XBox Achievements, Sony followed with trophies.
•Xbox Live, Sony followed with PSN.
•Halo made Sony scramble trying to get a response, because before CoD modern Warfare, everyone was all about Halo, and Sony tried all they could with Resistance and Kill Zone.

Hell... it is not exactly a secret that Uncharted as we know it would not exist if it was not for Gears of War.

In fact the biggest issue with Xbox, according to many, is precisely that they have so far refused to follow down Sony's steps of making heavy story focused third person adventure games.

@Tharsman and I tell people all the time (before they accuse me of being jealous, lol) that as good as those games are from Sony, they generally aren't for me. My gaming time is quite limited at this point of my life, so i simply can't get into games that rely so heavily on cutscenes and try so hard to be movies. i tend to lean heavily on games that just kind of get out of the way and let you play them. I remember when God of War came out in 2018, Conan O'Brien did a Clueless Gamer episode for it. There's a cutscene playing, and he turns to the camera and says, "I haven't touched a button in 45 minutes". He was exaggerating, of course, but only kind of. They're great games, but not my thing anymore.

@Tharsman Maybe I should of been more specific, PlayStation has always lead in terms of fanbase, success, the console that's the more go to console for most people.

Honestly wouldn't bank on it making its way over. However people feel about it, it honestly doesn't surprise me. Sony have been in bed with Final Fantasy since the original 7 moved over, it's kinda become like an always exclusive anyway.

@armondo36 literally the beauty of gaming. I used to be the other way around, as where as I've got older I like more story driven games. So Sony games are more for me, but being a gamer is just appreciating everything these developers create. All talented in making these games for each type of gamer.

@Kaloudz It makes sense to not announce the exclusivity window, because that is almost as much as starting the marketing for the competing consoles.

As for costs, we dont have a lot but thanks to some leaks, we do have some small insights. Nintendo paid 6 million for Monster Hunter Rise to be a total Switch exclusive [not even PC] for 9 months, and there was also a clause that prevented the reveal of any other platform versions for 6 months.

Keep in mind that Monster Hunter is Capcom's most profitable IP in recent years.

From that leak we also know that Sony paid $5 million to make RE7 VR for PlayStation VR (dont know if that event went to PC VR) and, randomly, Google Stadia paid Capcom $10 million simply to port Resident Evil 7 and 8 to the platform (not exclusive at that point.)

So these deals can be all over the place.

Yet they moan about COD. Sony seem a little hypocritical.

@Snake_V5

Anyway, I'm not arguing here

Neither am I dude, it was a response to your sweeping statement on Sony’s games v everyone else's.

@Sol4ris Okay, sorry Master Chief 😁

@Snake_V5 Also not necessary accurate. It was definitively not true during the X360/PS3 generation. Yes, eventually PS3 outsold 360 globally, but 360 indisputably dominated the NA market, and even by the end dominated the software unit sales. I also think its not a high point of contention that the main reason Xbox fell flat on its face last gen was their own arrogance and doing (that I don't think need a recap here.) At the same time, I think the only reason Xbox dominated so much during the 360 generation was precisely how impactful both, Halo and Gears were during that gen. This is a success Xbox has not managed to replicate yet.

What we can say is the PS4 dominated, although even that is 3 million units away from being over-taken by the Nintendo Switch.

Anyways, all 3 consoles has their strengths and weaknesses in both, regional and genre targeting, and the specific type of audiences that prefer them.

Tangent: sadly I don't think we will ever again see accurate software unit sales figures that mean anything with the rise of digital and cheap indie games.

Just a another positive for the AB deal, not for FF fans on Xbox only though. Xbox doens't make exclusives anymore since they release on PC day one (but PS only fans keep hammering on that fact). I love exclusives personally but not timed exclusives. It's just annoying for those who have to wait since -in a way- they are multiplats.
Very intriqued how the console space will be in about 2-3 years with these timed exlusives. Use that money to invest in games (not keeping them away from other platforms I mean - and applies to both sides btw)

@Widey85 It's not a permanent exclusive but Sony paid again for the current-gen version (Intergrade) and then Epic also paid... So it's a chain of temporary exclusivity deals and it sucks. There's a Windows version and Xbox is a Windows console (some Xbox games are specifically the Windows version like Final Fantasy XV, Moto GP 22, Cities Skyline...) so I believe that these Final Fantasy games will come to Xbox eventually.

@Dr_Luigi well said. You made the points i was going to make. Phil is against these deals and i can see some good and bad in that decision. However ABK makes Microsoft a huge name in the gaming space across 3 groups. Mobile, PC and console. That is money and awareness that is worth about every penny going forward.

@Kaloudz All the better reason to own both like i do if you can. I use my PS5 for exclusives only and my Xbox for everything else. I don’t like to miss out on good games. Just wish i could play God of War tomorrow with a Xbox Controller. fantastic game and series but i just don’t love PS controllers. They are good enough, just not my fav.

Oh sure, after 6 months the game will release on PC, and then maybe even PS4. That's what Sony's exclusivities mean.

@EquiinoxGII I absolutely agree. to each their own, which is why having so many options is great.

@Tharsman
You forgot GP)

@themightyant I think some clarity needs to be made in the exclusivity deals and Xbox.

Currently Xbox doesn’t really seek AAA exclusivity although not because of kindness or something stupid like that. They aren’t really seeking AAA exclusivity because it doesn’t move the needle for them. For instance, Tomb Raider is still associated with the PS. Smaller exclusivity deals with new IPs, PC games never on console, and repeat indie devs help associate that brand with Xbox.

Also High on Life and Scorn aren’t “big” games. They are virtual unknowns in the casual gaming market.

Stalker 2 is big but it’s also and older IP. with little to no association with PS. It’s fresh for them use. What I’m saying is financially you won’t see them net something like Final Fantasy or most of the known brands. They’d rather do a day 1 GP deals. Look at Wo Long. You can’t tell me they couldn’t have paid for exclusivity for that but MS opted to go for the GP deal instead.

Again it’s not that they won’t it’s just financially big IPs generally have history with other platforms and exclusivity isn’t going fix that.

@Reptilio I'm almost with you there. I did like 10, but for me that is the very last one I did really enjoy.

To be honest SE is pretty weird when it comes to releasing stuff in my opinion. I still do believe FFVII remake will eventually come to xbox, mainly cause they are releasing CC-Reunion on it, it would feel weird to have the prequel chapter and that is it. How long will it take, is a different matter, I wouldn't be surprised if it was in, e.g. 10 years time on a FFVIII remake bundle with all games type of thing.

You never know with SE tough, I still find it funny that Xbox got Octopath Traveler (but not PS, it was on Stadia! FFS), and now Octopath traveler II is planned for Switch, PC and PS but not Xbox. I certainly find their logic quite interesting. I guess, bottom line is, with them you never know...we are talking about the people who fragmented KH in a 1000 different platforms, so who knows.

Another Sony article on an Xbox website. "Square Enix hasn't announced an Xbox version." Then why write about it?

@Snake_V5 That's not true. the Xbox 360 era was the dominant console for that generation.

Xbox 360 was ahead of PS3 in hardware and software sales but Sony made and sold cheap PS3 revisions after the generation had ended to take the hardware crown. The truth is that console exclusives are generally niche, except for Nintendo, and Sony's most successful exclusives are relatively short, linear and cinematic. Sony is repeating the PS4 pattern this generation but it's not working as they intended so they turned PS5 exclusives into PS4/PS5 titles and have stated that over 50% of their games will be running on WIndows PCs.

@Kaloudz i understand that. Yeah me and my friend used to play Soul Caliber and Power Stone on the Dreamcast. I had a lot of fun with the DC.

Two companies I used to respect and now will not contribute anymore. Good luck. Won't be missing you. I haven't been for years. No plan to ever give either of them my money.

Now that I think of it, maybe it would be best for the Activision Blizzard deal to not go through. Give it to someone else so we can have choices outside of Sony Nintendo and Microsoft who are all failing at the moment.

@Widey85 Yep, I also liked Final Fantasy XV, it's one of the Xbox One games that I've played the most, specifically on Xbox One X where it looks and play impressively.

I think that Square Enix will release the remake trilogy and XVI eventually so I'll play other games in the meantime. The backlog is gigantic.