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It’s been a long time coming, but Final Fantasy XIV will finally debut on the Xbox Series X|S in spring 2024. The Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest 2023 announcement saw game director Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) celebrating with Xbox head Phil Spencer and Square Enix boss Takashi Kiryu on stage, sparking hope that other installments of the franchise may eventually make their way to the console.
Now, the verdict is in.
At gamescom 2023, IGN asked Spencer if there’s a chance Final Fantasy VII Remake and the recently-launched Final Fantasy XVI will end up on Xbox in the coming years. No definite answer was given, but he teased some in-development plans that paint a promising picture for fans.
“I recognise that when people buy an Xbox, they want to make sure the great games that they want to play are coming,” Spencer said. “If there’s any publisher out there where that hasn’t been true, Square’s one of the top. Sarah Bond [Corporate Vice President, Game Creator Experience and Ecosystem at Microsoft] and I fly to Tokyo and have conversations, and we’ve spent a lot of time with Square. There’s obviously business deals and relationships that will have to get worked through on certain games.
“But I’ll say it was really great to have the CEO of Square and Yoshi there to just talk about their commitment to Xbox. Because I can say, like, ‘I’m the head of Xbox, blah blah blah,’ but having the CEO of one of the third-parties make a commitment to the platform, I thought was a really meaningful step.
“So you’ll hear more. I’m not going to push them. They’re going to have to find their own rhythm. But having them make a commitment to Xbox was really important both to me, and I’ve heard it from the community, to the community as well. And FFXIV was more of a commitment.”
It’s optimistic news for Xbox owners, especially after years of being sidelined. Final Fantasy games have largely been exclusive to PlayStation consoles, with more recent titles like FFXV, FFVII Remake, and FFXVI getting PC versions. FFVII Remake Intergrade was released in 2021, while a PC version is currently in the works for FFXVI. No release date has been set, nor is there mention of an Xbox port — for now.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
