Final Fantasy XVI Three Years On: Why the Darkest Final Fantasy Deserves a Second Look
It launched as a PS5 exclusive in 2023, divided longtime fans and missed Square Enix's sales hopes. Now on PC and Xbox with both expansions, Clive Rosfield's war of the Eikons is easier to play than ever. Here is what it is and who it is for.
Most Final Fantasy games open with a crystal, a hero and a sense of wonder. Final Fantasy XVI opens with a war. In its first hours, a prince watches his family torn apart and is sold into slavery, and the giant summoned beasts the series is known for become weapons of mass destruction, controlled by people the world fears.
It was a bold reinvention, and three years after its launch it is easier to reach than ever. Final Fantasy XVI came to PlayStation 5 on June 22, 2023, to PC on September 17, 2024 and to Xbox Series X|S on June 8, 2025. With both story expansions available and the remake trilogy heading for its finale in 2027, it is a good moment to look at the Final Fantasy that broke the most rules.
A world at war over crystals
Final Fantasy XVI is set in Valisthea, a land split between six nations whose power comes from giant Mothercrystals. Each nation guards a Dominant, a person who can transform into an Eikon, the game's name for classic summons such as Ifrit, Shiva and Bahamut. When two Eikons clash, the battles are the size of mountains.
You play Clive Rosfield, the first son of a ducal family, across several decades of his life. The story is closer to Game of Thrones than to the series' fairy-tale roots: political, violent and frequently bleak. The game carries a mature rating in most regions for good reason.
Combat from the Devil May Cry school
The biggest break with tradition is the combat. There are no turns and no party menus. Instead, Final Fantasy XVI is a full action game, with Clive combining sword combos, magic and Eikon abilities he unlocks over the story.
That was a deliberate choice. Square Enix hired Ryota Suzuki, a Capcom veteran who worked on the Devil May Cry series, as the game's battle designer. The result is fast, stylish and demanding at higher difficulties, though accessibility rings let newer players automate dodging and combos.
Not every fan was happy. Traditionalists missed party control and turn-based tactics, and many critics found the side quests flat. But the Eikon fights, which play out as giant set-piece battles, are among the most spectacular moments in the series.
Two expansions, two more stories
The game received two paid story expansions, both included in later bundles:
- Echoes of the Fallen, released on December 7, 2023, sends Clive into an ancient tower in a short, combat-focused adventure.
- The Rising Tide, released on April 18, 2024, is the bigger of the two, adding a new region and the water Eikon Leviathan.
Together they add a satisfying final chapter for anyone who finished the main story.
How it scored and sold
Critics were positive. Final Fantasy XVI scored 87 on Metacritic for PS5, 84 on PC and 88 on Xbox Series X|S. It sold more than three million copies in its first week and was the 16th best-selling game in the United States in 2023.
Square Enix, however, said the game did not meet its higher expectations, and in May 2024 it named FFXVI among major titles that had fallen short of long-term sales targets. That disappointment, together with Rebirth's, is a big reason the company now launches its biggest games on more platforms, a story we tell in our Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy long read.
Who should play it in 2026
Play Final Fantasy XVI if you like action games, dark fantasy and enormous boss battles. It is a single, finished story with no live-service hooks. Skip it, or try a demo first, if you want a classic party-based Final Fantasy with turns and towns full of whimsy.
On PC it runs through Steam; on consoles it is available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. And if it clicks, Square Enix's next big action RPG is only months away: Final Fantasy VII Revelation arrives on April 8, 2027.