Though Final Fantasy 16 is still two months away from its long-anticipated release, the news of an upcoming launch event could line up with a potential demo release for the PS5 title. Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy 16 will have a dedicated event just before the game's official release, which correlates with statements from the developers.Following a dedicated State of Play broadcast that took place on April 13, Final Fantasy 16 saw a major uptick in popularity on Amazon. Preorders for the game spiked up, as Final Fantasy 16 overtook other popular titles such as Resident Evil 4 and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor following the show. After the show, Final Fantasy 16 trended on social media, with many gamers praising the graphics, fast-paced combat, and audio of the game. Though the game has already gone gold, Square Enix looks to keep the momentum going. Square Enix announced on social media that a Final Fantasy 16 launch event will be held on Sunday, June 11, at 3:00 PM Pacific, in Los Angeles. However, the date of June 11 is less than two weeks away from Final Fantasy 16' s planned release date of June 22. This lines up with what Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida said in an interview with Famitsu in March, which was translated by Twitter user "aitaikimochi" afterward. According to Yoshi-P, the development team would like to release a Final Fantasy 16 demo within two weeks of the game's release in order to avoid the hype for the game tapering off if it was released too early.
During the State of Play broadcast, Yoshi-P showed viewers a glimpse of what players can expect in Final Fantasy 16. From the Eikonic abilities that Clive can switch and wield as needed, to the Eikon vs Eikon battles that will take place throughout the story, Final Fantasy 16 looks to bring something new to the series, while honoring elements of its history that got the series to where it is today.
As for the Final Fantasy 16 launch event itself, it also lines up with the window that was traditionally held by E3 prior to its cancelation. However, with the return of Summer Game Fest, it is not clear if Square Enix's launch event will be part of the Summer Game Fest slate, or if the timing is coincidental. Further details about the Final Fantasy 16 launch event will be released by Square Enix in the weeks ahead.
Final Fantasy 16 launches on June 22 for PS5.