Final Fantasy XVI Demo Available, Gets Pre-Launch Celebration Stream

Square Enix held a pre-launch celebration stream for Final Fantasy XVI, ahead of the game’s release on PlayStation 5 next week. The five-hour stream — viewable in full below alongside a couple of new trailers — featured a selection of panels involving senior development staff Producer Naoki Yoshida, Localization Director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, Main Director Hiroshi Takai, Creative Director and Original Screenplay Writer Kazutoyo Maehiro, Combat Director Ryota Suzuki, and Composer Masayoshi Soken. The panels covered a variety of elements, including combat and Eikon battles, the story, and the music.

In addition to the panels, Square Enix announced a demo version of Final Fantasy XVI, which is available now. The demo contains two sections. The first is access to the game’s opening sections, which include moments of protagonist Clive Rosfield’s teenage years. The prologue section is a few hours long and its progress can be transferred to the main game. After playing through the prologue, demo players will unlock access to an edited combat-focused chapter from later in the game. This will let players get a preview of some of the combat abilities Clive will be able to pick over the course of the game, including an Eikon battle. Progress from the combat-focused chapter will not be transferrable. Square Enix also confirmed that both PlatinumGames and Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts studio were involved in parts of the game’s development.

Final Fantasy XVI is set in the high fantasy land of Valisthea, which is dotted with Mothercrystals, towering structures that spread aether. People have built up around the crystals, using the aether for magic and to help them live in comfort. Valisthea is home to incredibly powerful beings called Eikons, Final Fantasy XVI’s variant on the series’s summons, with protagonist Clive Rosfield becoming involved with the dark Eikon Ifrit.