The idea of PlayStation exclusivity has come under fire in recent days, with the announcement that Marvel’s Avengers will feature Spider-Man, but as a PlayStation exclusive character only.
Xbox and PC gamers are not happy with this announcement, and Sony has been coming under fire from these individuals for their role in further igniting the console war.
According to inside sources, Xbox and PC fans might have another PlayStation exclusivity woe in their near future. It has been reported unofficially that Sony will soon announce a timed exclusivity period for Final Fantasy XVI, the latest installment of Square Enix‘s long running Final Fantasy series.
The prediction was made by a ResetEra forum member named Navtra. This is the same user who said that Sony would be revealing a new Ratchet & Clank game, a Little Big Planet spin-off title, a teaser for a second Spider-Man game, a Demon’s Souls remake, and a new IP from Square Enix, later confirmed to be Project Athia.
All of these predictions have proven true.
This user also predicted that Square Enix would announce a number of PlayStation exclusives for Marvel’s Avengers, which we all know now to be 100% true as well.
The only prediction that this user has made which we have not yet seen come to pass is the claim that Final Fantasy XVI will have a PlayStation Exclusivity period.
However, this Friday there will be a new PlayStation All Access event, where a number of announcements surrounding the PlayStation 5 are expected to drop. It stands to reason that, if Final Fantasy XVI is going to be a PlayStation exclusive for a period of time, the news could hit at this event.
“XVI is real,” Navtra said. “It was supposed to get announced in June’s event. It’s supposedly closer than most people would think. It has some kind of PS5 exclusivity (it was vague back then but it seems to be full timed exclusivity now). And I have no idea why they haven’t announced it yet.”
This would be a not all together unprecedented move from Square Enix. While Final Fantasy XV was released on multiple systems, their most recent game, Final Fantasy VII Remake, has a timed exclusivity deal with Sony.
Final Fantasy VII Remake’s exclusivity period is for one year. That means it cannot debut on Xbox One or PC systems until April 10, 2021, exactly one year after the game’s initial release.
Square Enix said back in June that it would be revealing new games through July and August that were originally slated to debut at the cancelled E3 event.