

Trailers: Awakening/Reveal Trailer, Dominance/Gameplay Trailer Also of note is that the game's combat director is ex- Capcom developer Ryota Suzuki, gameplay designer on Dragon's Dogma and Devil May Cry 5. And Masayoshi Soken, the sound director and composer of Final Fantasy XIV, serves as XVI's composer as well. Kazutoyo Maehiro, main scenario writer of A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, is XVI's creative director and penned the game's scenario and script. Hiroshi Takai, director of The Last Remnant and assistant director on the XIV expansions A Realm Reborn and Heavensward, as well as development supervisor of the XIV expansions Stormblood, Shadowbringers and Endwalker, is XVI's director. Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida is XVI's producer. Notably, Final Fantasy XVI is developed by Square-Enix's Creative Business Unit III, the famed development team behind the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, making it the first time the team has developed a single-player mainline Final Fantasy game. Thus begins Clive's journey through blighted monsters, warring armies, the other Dominants, and the very rulers of the realms, as he is drawn ever deeper into the secrets of Valisthea, and the continent continues to descend into ever greater calamity. In the aftermath, Clive abandons all he once knew to instead set off on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against all those responsible for that night. At least until one bloody night, when the Grand Duchy is attacked, and a seemingly impossible second Eikon of Fire, Ifrit, emerges in the chaos. Aiding Clive in his quest is Jill Warrick, a former princess of the now fallen Northern Territories and confidant of the Rosfields. This is because Phoenix's Dominant is none other than his beloved younger brother and heir to the archducal throne, Joshua Rosfield. Protagonist Clive Rosfield, the first-born son of Rosaria's ruling archduke, seeks to prove himself as the First Shield of Rosaria, protector of Dominant of the Eikon of Fire, Phoenix.

Our story opens in the Grand Duchy of Rosaria. However, Valisthea's uneasy peace has begun to come to an end, as a mysterious malady known as the Blight has slowly been consuming the realms, and driving each nation into increasingly bloody conflicts over what land and resources remain. Regardless, anyone born a Dominant, for better or worse, is unable to escape their status. Treatment of Dominants vary across the continent: some revere them as royalty in admiration of their power, some bind them in fear and force them to serve as Human Weapons, and others believe them monstrosities who should all be killed. Further enforcing this peace are the Dominants, a single human for each of the magical elements born with the power to transform into towering beings of supernatural mass-destruction called " Eikons". With each realm controlling a Mothercrystal of their own, an uneasy peace has long settled across the lands. From these blessings rose six realms: the Grand Duchy of Rosaria, the Dhalmekian Republic, the Holy Empire of Sanbreque, the Kingdom of Waloed, the Iron Kingdom, and the Crystalline Dominion. Each Mothercrystal provides those around it with the blessing of aether, allowing them to live lives of comfort and plenty. On the continent of Valisthea, giant crystal mountains known as "Mothercrystals" tower over the lands. It is set to be released in Summer 2023 for the PlayStation 5. Final Fantasy XVI is an upcoming Action RPG and the sixteenth Numbered Sequel in the feather-burningly popular Final Fantasy series.
