A recent PlayStation 5 advert showcased a montage of numerous available and upcoming games for the console, some with a footnote that specified its release window, and when showing a clip on Final Fantasy 16, the footnote read, "Final Fantasy XVI anticipated Summer 2023. PS5 exclusive for six months."Though definitely an interesting tidbit of info, it's unfortunately not as straightforward as it may seem. Many fans and analysts discovered that Final Fantasy 16's first trailer, which was streamed in 2020, listed it as a PlayStation console exclusive that would also be available on PC.However, the trailer's re-upload on the official PlayStation YouTube channel was changed to only show the PS5 logo at the end of the video. Publication Gematsu specifically asked Square Enix about this back in 2020, and the publisher's response was "We have no further information on if FF16 will be released on platforms other than the PS5."
So, it's clear that, at launch, Final Fantasy 16 will only be available on PlayStation 5. What's uncertain is where it's going after that. PlayStation and Square Enix seemingly worked out some behind-closed-doors deal regarding the iconic RPG franchise. Final Fantasy 7 Remake was notably listed as being a 12-month PlayStation 4 exclusive that would come to Xbox and PC afterward. Though it would eventually come to PC in December 2021, its Xbox version was unceremoniously canceled.
Similarly, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the remake's sequel, is also listed in its trailer as only coming to PlayStation 5. If all Final Fantasy titles are subject to the same deal, then the 6-month window on Final Fantasy 16 probably means it will then come to PC and PC only, never seeing the light of day on Xbox, at least not for a long time. Though the series has a storied PlayStation connection, with a lot of its older titles being exclusive to the platform, many newer titles did launch on Xbox as well, most recently 2015's Final Fantasy 15.
What muddies the water even further is that upcoming Square Enix title Forspoken also appears in the recent PlayStation advert. Its footnote reads, in part, "PS5 Exclusive until January 23, 2025," meaning two years following its 2023 release. It's written identically to Final Fantasy 16's footnote, yet there's a key difference; Forspoken is coming to PC at launch, meaning its two-year exclusivity window must be specifically referring to Xbox. PlayStation can't be faulted too much, as it's a very fast-paced advert, but it would be nice for it to, moving forward, be a bit more specific with what 'PS5 exclusive' means.