Summary
WhenTokyo Game Showhappens later this month,Sony won’t be the only big brand with a major presence at the event. That’s becauseMicrosoft has announced that Xbox will have a broadcast event on Sept. 26.
Beyond content fromXbox’sown game studios, as well asActivisionandBlizzard, “an exciting lineup of games from third-party partners primarily based in Japan and across Asia, including games coming to Xbox Game Pass” will also be part of the event,per a press release.
That could mean anything, but one gaming insider believes thatSquare Enixand itsFinal Fantasyproperty could be a big announcement.
Final Fantasy 16, Yes Please!
In the latest episode of his Xbox Two podcast, reliable insider Jez Corden relayed his thoughts aboutMicrosoft’sforthcoming Tokyo Game Show presence, believing that something Final Fantasy related is on the horizon.
“I do think that we are going to get something Final Fantasy related. I’ve heard that the whole slate is on the docket, including Final Fantasy 7, 16 and Pixel Remasters.
A lot of people were wondering, like, ‘Has Sony locked down Final Fantasy 7 forever?’ I’ve heard that is not the case, and that Final Fantasy 7 will eventually come to Xbox. I don’t know when it will, and I don’t know if it’ll be in the first wave. … I do think 7 Remake will come to Xbox, but I think at least initially it will be Pixel Remasters and 16.”
Earlier this year,Final Fantasy 14made its way to Xbox,and director Naoki Yoshida revealed that it’s just the beginning of Square Enix’s long-term plans when it comes to Microsoft’s flagship console.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Yoshida said, “With Final Fantasy 14’s release on Xbox, Phil Spencer spent a lot of his time and a lot of effort and put in a lot of hard work into making it a reality. So, we would like to make the best of that and further deepen the relationship with Xbox gamers going forward.“Yoshida added, “So, with Final Fantasy 14 as the starting point, we do want to release more Square Enix games on Xbox, and there will be more of our titles released on Xbox. So I hope players will look forward to future things to come on the platform.”
Those plans line up with Square Enix’s overall strategy to broaden its release strategy to a more multi-platform-based approach, particularly as development costs for its titles have skyrocketed in relation to overall game sales. In other words, Tokyo Game Show seems like the perfect spot to reveal a newfound partnership between the two companies.And with Final Fantasy 16 set to come out on PC before the end of the month, a release on Xbox doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Neither do ports of thePixel Remasters, or evenFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, especially given howCrisis Core Reunion has already been released on Xbox. We won’t have long to find out if these predictions do come to pass.
