It’s been rumoured/semi-confirmed plenty in the past, but we’ve finally got a bit of a clearer vision of a playable public demo for the next big mainline entry in the Final Fantasy series.
International outlets dropped previews for Final Fantasy XVI overnight, with press having sampled a hefty chunk of the game. Alongside talking about their experience with a tailored version of the early hours of FF16, they were also able to report that at least a portion of what was played will be included in an upcoming demo. The demo will supposedly last around a couple of hours, from the beginning section of the game, with some outlets involved reporting that it will feature progress carry-over to the full game.
PlayStation’s own blog post previewing the game writes, “We first sample the game’s opening hours, a flashback to a key period in Clive Rosfield’s youth that sets up what’s to come. (It’s this section that players will experience in a public demo which drops ahead of the full game’s launch.)”
Perhaps we’ll see this demo as soon as this week’s mammoth PlayStation Showcase, though that would be well ahead of the game’s release. More likely it drops closer to June 22nd so fans aren’t kept waiting too long after sampling it for themselves.
We played Final Fantasy XVI for ourselves earlier this year, saying “…the two-and-a-bit hours I spent immersing myself in Final Fantasy XVI has painted a reassuringly positive picture. It’s been in good enough hands this whole time that I’ve always felt rather confident in the game to really bring the single-player Final Fantasy experience back into good stead, but knowing what I now know and playing what I played I’m almost certain that this will be the Final Fantasy to truly wow the world once again.
Final Fantasy XVI launches for PS5 on June 22nd, 2023. Amazon has the cheapest pre-order price at $84 with free shipping.
