During the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday, Square Enix took to the stage to finally announce that their 2021 title, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, as well as their 2023 title, Final Fantasy XVI, will be coming to Xbox this year. Both games launched exclusively for PlayStation 5, with them later being ported to PC. Despite Square Enix taking to the stage when announcing their popular MMO Final Fantasy XIV was coming to Xbox, and making clear the company intended to work closely with Microsoft and Xbox in the future for more of their big games coming to the platform, titles like Visions of Mana saw day one release on Xbox, with titles like Final Fantasy XVI being announced for PC with no mention of Xbox at the time.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which was released simultaneously for the PS5 and PC, is a next-generation upgrade of the PS4 initial release. It retells the opening few hours of the 1997 RPG, spanning approximately 40 hours of gameplay set in the city of Midgar. In addition, the Integrade chapter tells a new story that follows the character of Yuffie, overlapping with this narrative and serving to set up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the 2024 sequel. It will be available this winter for the platform, which appears to be in line with when we can expect the Nintendo Switch 2 port as well.
Final Fantasy XVI was released in 2023 as the next mainline entry in the long-running franchise. It features an action RPG gameplay with players taking the role of Clive Rosfield, voiced by Benn Starr, as he attempts to take revenge for events that happened in his childhood. It draws some heavy influence from High Fantasy narratives such as Game of Thrones, with Final Fantasy XIV Director Yoshi-P helming the game. Unlike Remake, XVI was stealth-released and is available now on Xbox platforms for purchase.
Both titles will not release as part of Xbox Game Pass, but they will be part of Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud, allowing you to take your game and play it on any platform you want to, including the newly announced Xbox Rog Ally X handheld device. There is no news about when Xbox players can expect to get Rebirth.
Remember to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Bluesky to keep up to date on everything we have going on!