A new rumor suggests 'Final Fantasy 16' and 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' will be announced for Xbox Series X|S "soon"

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Credible leaker 'NateTheHate' has been spreading rumors that Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake could be announced for Xbox sometime this year.

Promotional screenshot of Clive playing with Torgal in Final Fantasy 16
Even in a world filled Eikons and wars, a dog will always be a man's best friend. (Image credit: Square Enix)

Recently, the notable tipster NateTheHate, has been stating on Resetera that Xbox ports for Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake could be announced later this year, with an Xbox port for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth set for 2026 (via @IdleSlothVGT on X).

NateTheHate has made claims of Xbox ports for FF7 Remake and Rebirth before, which my colleague, Jez Corden, has corroborated with our own sources. However, we've been been unable to lock down the timing of these announcements at the time of this writing. Nate seems to have given us some idea of the timing in new posts.

According to NateTheHate, Final Fantasy 16 will be announced/released for Xbox sometime around the first half of 2025 (possibly Spring), Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Xbox port will be announced/released in 2025, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Xbox port will come in somewhere in 2026. NateTheHate speculates that Square Enix will announce the Xbox ports for these aforementioned Final Fantasy games simultaneously for maximum effect.

Historically, Microsoft has had partner-focused showcases around the Spring timeframe, which would be a good idea to showcase Square Enix's efforts to further support Xbox. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth recently hit Steam and seems to be doing well for the company, despite previous assertions that it missed expectations when it was PS5 console exclusive.

It's only a matter of time until the biggest modern hits of the Final Fantasy series come to Xbox

FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH - PC ANNOUNCE TRAILER - YouTube FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH - PC ANNOUNCE TRAILER - YouTube
Watch On

As Square Enix releases more of its JRPGs on multiple platforms, like the Trials series, Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection, and Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, the possibility of NateTheHate's rumor is looking more likely true by the day.

Xbox Series X|S could certainly benefit from having Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as these games are regarded as some of the best PC titles the modern franchise has to offer, since they made the jump from PlayStation to PC via Steam.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is especially one that Xbox fans would love to play as our diehard Xbox and Final Fantasy fan, Jez Corden, gave the PC port for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth a 4.5/5 star review.

However, as always, take rumors with a pinch of salt, even if they're looking increasingly likely.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

The hunt for Sephiroth continues in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Travel across a world filled with wonder and danger as Cloud, Barrett, Tifa, Aerith, and Red XIII strive to save the world and discover world-shattering revelations.

See at: CDKeys (Steam)| GreenManGaming (Steam)

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Alexander Cope
Alexander Cope
Contributor — Gaming

Alexander Cope is a gaming veteran of 30-plus years, primarily covering PC and Xbox games here on Windows Central. Gaming since the 8-bit era, Alexander's expertise revolves around gaming guides and news, with a particular focus on Japanese titles from the likes of Elden Ring to Final Fantasy. Alexander is always on deck to help our readers conquer the industry's most difficult games — when he can pry himself away from Monster Hunter that is! 

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • fatpunkslim
    At this rate, PlayStation will have fewer exclusives than Xbox, and I believe it is already the case, even with Xbox porting some games to their console, which are severely lacking first-party games (apart from remakes).

    Considering that:

    80% of PlayStation exclusives are from third-party publishers.
    And that almost all third-party publishers can no longer or do not want to make games for just one console, like Square Enix, Capcom, and many others.In this post-exclusive era (quoting Jez) for both Xbox and PlayStation, the advantage of Xbox is that they do not depend on third-party publishers unlike PlayStation. Xbox can choose to port or not its games to other platforms and can choose to keep or not some exclusive games (even if for some games it is temporary). On the other hand, PS exclusives greatly depend on third-party publishers.

    Unless PlayStation hires or buys new studios, the situation is unlikely to change for them. They have already cut 10% of their workforce and closed 5 studios. The new management is clearly moving towards multiplatform, given their revenue and low profit margin.

    Moreover, they couldn't even buy the studio that developed Elden Ring, which shows a lack of financial capability.

    In any case, this situation is very favorable for Xbox, which is picking up many licenses that were formerly exclusive to PlayStation. After Persona and others like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, it is now the turn of Final Fantasy, Death Stranding, Kingdom Hearts, Kena, Sifu, Forspoken, Onimusha, and more to come.
    Reply