Final Fantasy 16 director thinks Square Enix is 'likely' to release future games on PC on day 1

Hiroshi Takai doesn't believe Square Enix gains anything from delaying PC releases of its games.

Image via Square Enix
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Square Enix has lamented several times how the sales of its largest games were unable to meet expectations over the last few years. In a recent interview, when asked about its platform strategy, Final Fantasy 16 Director Hiroshi Takai answered that he believes the company will probably aim to have games out on PC right alongside consoles on day 1.

Takai shared these thoughts in a recent interview with GamesRadar+ this week. When asked if future Final Fantasy games would get simultaneous launch in comparison to the delayed PC launch that Final Fantasy 16 saw, Takai shared his opinion on the matter.

Clive fighting foes with the electric powers of the lightning Eikon Ramuh in Final Fantasy 16.
Combat was an interesting topic in Final Fantasy 16, mixing the powers of the series' summons into action-heavy hack-n'-slash.
Source: Square Enix

Hiroshi Takai would go on to say that while he believes that while the day 1 thought was his opinion, it also makes sense - Square Enix has learned full well by now that staggered platform releases aren’t helping it meet its expectations.

Final Fantasy 16 got solid reviews across the board in 2023, but it only just got PC release dates for September 2024. There are demos available and many have been enjoying what the game does on PC, but it’s generally agreed upon that not launching on PC didn’t help with FF16’s sales, as it was a focal point in several Square Enix earnings results, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz.

If simultaneous release is Square Enix’s plan going forward, then it might very well help shore up the numbers on future games. For now, however, we’ll be waiting to see how Final Fantasy 16 does when it officially launches on PC next month.

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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