Details regarding the review embargo and pre-load date for Square Enix’s upcoming action role-playing game, Final Fantasy XVI, have been revealed.
Update: According to Open Critic, the review embargo for Final Fantasy XVI will be lifted on June 21, 2023, at 10 AM Eastern Time.
Original Story: Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier took to Twitter to share that he will have many thoughts to share on Final Fantasy XVI next week, indicating that the review embargo would have been lifted by then. This would appear to be sometime on June 21, 2023. Fans can look forward to hearing soon what critics have to say about the latest entry in the long running role-playing game series.
Additionally, as seen above, those who have pre-ordered a digital copy of Final Fantasy XVI can pre-load the game on PS5 starting June 20, 2023. The digital pre-load should come with the latest update pre-installed.
Previously, speaking during the latest episode of Weekly Ochia’s talk show, Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida revealed that publisher Square Enix has an 18 month post-launch plan to increase the game’s sales.
In response to a question regarding Square Enix’s approach to sales, specifically in terms of generating profits, Naoki Yoshida stated that when it comes to the final product, he prepares a detailed budget documentation that includes information such as the platforms the game will be released on, the total development costs, marketing and PR expenses, and the projected profits. These details are crucially important and are included in the documentation. However, he admitted that he won’t be paying much attention to the first-week sales of Final Fantasy XVI.
Responding to another question regarding the publisher’s approach to the post-release sales plan and how it will adapt to changes in player behavior in terms of marketing strategy, Yoshida said that sales extension can vary from country to country. With respect to Japan, he gave the example of the recently released movie, Slam Dunk. Fans of the show were highly interested in it, but there were doubts and concerns during the promotional phase. However, once fans watched the movie, they enthusiastically recommended it to others, generating positive word-of-mouth. This kind of attraction created by word-of-mouth is still a powerful tool in PR today, he said.
