Final Fantasy 16 will not have an open world.
Producer Naoki Yoshida confirmed the news in an interview with IGN, though he said the latest open world games have provided “inspiration.”
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“In our extensive user research we have found that many of the younger generation of gamers have never played Final Fantasy or have no interest in the series. To create a game that can excite and resonate not only with our main fans., but also with that new generation, we played many games ourselves, and so on [Final Fantasy 16] you will find the inspiration for the latest triple A open world role-playing games, “said Yoshida.
“However, to provide a story that seems to cover the whole world and beyond, we decided to avoid an open world design that limits us to a single open world space and instead focus on an open world design. Zone-based independent game that can give players a better sense of a truly “global” scale.
Final Fantasy 16 is set in the new world of Valisthea comprising six regions, each with a Dominant imbued with the power of an Eikon (invocation).
Perhaps, then, the world will be divided into six regions (or more) to reflect this.
After Final Fantasy 15 was criticized for its open world, it seems that Final Fantasy 16 is moving in a different direction rather than relying on that experience.
The lack of an open world will also allow the team to develop the cutting-edge graphics for which the series is known.
Final Fantasy 16 will be released in the summer of 2023.