Final Fantasy 16 developers swear not to delay it, barring meteor strike

Final Fantasy XVI. Courtesy of Square Enix

In a move perhaps meant to assuage fears that the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI may face the same delays and hurdles as its predecessor, producer Naoki Yoshida has committed to the game's June release date. His exact words were "unless a meteor falls on Japan, there will be no delay" – you have to love a man with confidence. In many ways, Final Fantasy XVI seems to be making every effort to distance itself from the polarizing Final Fantasy XV, such as dropping the open-world approach, going for a more traditional fantasy aesthetic, and scaling back the party-based combat to focus more on the main character. I suspect, however, that whether or not it's able to shake off the black sheep of the family is inconsequential to Square Enix execs as long as the MMO Final Fantasy XIV keeps printing money.