The Final Fantasy series is one of the major reasons why Sony’s PlayStation consoles sell well. While Xbox will be getting Final Fantasy XIV soon, it is still uncertain whether other installments are coming to the console.
Microsoft has met with representatives of Square Enix to discuss the possibility of bringing Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XVI to the Xbox console. Xbox chief Phil Spencer shared some details about the meeting with IGN at the sidelines of Gamescom 2023. According to Spencer, he and corporate VP Sarah Bond flew out to Tokyo to meet with representatives of the studio.
The Xbox team reportedly met with new Square Enix CEO Takashi Kiryu and Final Fantasy game director Naioki Yoshida. As a result of the meeting, Yoshi-P made a commitment at Final Fantasy XIV fanfest to bring Final Fantasy XIV to Xbox later this year. However, Spencer stopped short of announcing Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XVI on the Microsoft console.
Here’s what Spencer said about seeing more Final Fantasy games on the Xbox:
I recognize that when people buy an Xbox, they want to make sure the great games that they want to play are coming. If there’s any publisher out there where that hasn’t been true, Square’s one of the top. Sarah Bond and I fly to Tokyo and have conversations, and we’ve spent a lot of time with Square. There’s obviously business deals and relationships that will have to get worked through on certain games.
So you’ll hear more. I’m not going to push them. They’re going to have to find their own rhythm. But having them make a commitment to Xbox was really important both to me, and I’ve heard it from the community, to the community as well. And 14 was more of a commitment.
Final Fantasy VII Remake became one of the fastest-selling PS4 exclusives ever. The game sold over 3.5 million copies in just three days, surpassing Marvel’s Spider-Man and God of War. The game also won numerous awards in 2020, capping the year off with the Best Role-Playing Game plum at the Game Awards.
Final Fantasy XVI is one of the biggest releases so far this year. The game has sold over 3 million units in the first week but still lags behind its predecessor, Final Fantasy XV, which shipped 5 million copies during launch week. The most recent addition to the Final Fantasy franchise is a likely candidate for the Game of the Year award.
During the recent FTC v. Microsoft trial, it was mentioned that Xbox had a serious interest in acquiring Square Enix in 2019. The tech giant wanted to purchase the RPG publisher to gain a significant foothold in the Japanese market where Xbox significantly lags behind Nintendo and Sony in terms of console sales.
Final Fantasy XVI was also used by Microsoft as an example of PlayStation’s exclusivity deals with third-party studios during the hearings. Sony was forced to disclose its third-party exclusivity deals during the trial.
