Final Fantasy 16 Producer Is Open to Removing Numbered Installments

The producer of Square Enix's upcoming RPG Final Fantasy XVI has said that he'd personally be open to removing the numbers from the mainline installments in the long-running series. First started all the way back in 1987, each major new entry in the Final Fantasy franchise has always told a wholly new story but has contained the next sequential number in its title. Doing so has sparked a bit of confusion amongst newcomers though, which has led one major Final Fantasy developer to believe that it might be time to abandon this naming convention. 

Speaking to GQ, Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida has said that he's already discussed internally at Square Enix the idea of ditching the numbered entries in the series. Yoshida said that he believes these numbered sequels prove to be daunting to new players who likely think that they have to start from the original Final Fantasy in order to fully understand the story of the saga. As such, Yoshida says he's been in favor of ditching the numbered chronology of Final Fantasy, although he won't be the one to make such a call in the future. 

"That's actually something that I've discussed with the higher-ups. Maybe it's about time we removed the numbers from the title," Yoshida said of the idea. "For example, you have Final Fantasy 14. You get a new player coming in and it's like, 'Wait a minute, why do I have to play Final Fantasy 14 if 16 is out?' Why don't we just call it Final Fantasy Online – just get rid of the number altogether, and that'll make it easier to understand. Whether Final Fantasy 17 or Final Fantasy 18 should have a number or not – that's going to be on whoever has to develop that game and whoever's in charge of the branding, so that's their problem, not ours!"

Whatever Square Enix might opt to do with Final Fantasy's title format in the future, that change clearly won't be made with Final Fantasy XVI. The latest entry in the series is poised to launch next month on June 22 and will be exclusive to PS5. If you'd like to learn more about FF XVI prior to its release, you can read our extensive hands-on preview of the game right here.