2023 is going to be one of the best years ever for Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, with the release of the rhythm game Theatrhytm Final Bar Line next month, the sixteenth main entry in the series in June and of FFVII: Rebirth sometime during Winter. However, it seems like fans of the series will have one more thing to look out for this year.

　　In his New Year's greeting posted on the official Final Fantasy website, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed that a big announcement related to the series, and unrelated to FFVII, will be coming later this year.

　　Happy New Year to you all.

　　FINAL FANTASY XVI is set to release this year, which means Yoshi-P needs your support now more than ever. Cheer him on as he gives it his all down the stretch!

　　Also! Development is picking up speed on the title I'm producing, FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH. I'm sure many of your collective imaginations are running wild trying to picture how we'll recreate some of the game's most iconic scenes, and we'll have more to share about that when the time is right.

　　There's also another big announcement unrelated to FFVII that I can't say anything about just yet.

　　Rest assured we're working hard to make sure 2023 is the most exciting year yet.

　　As Yoshinori Kitase didn't add much else, it is not possible to say which announcement he could be talking about. Thanks to the GeForce Now massive leak from 2021, however, we have learned that Square Enix is working on a remaster of Final Fantasy Tactics and a Final Fantasy IX remake, so he could be talking about either game.

　　As mentioned above, the next big Final Fantasy game to release in 2023 is Final Fantasy XVI. The game, which will launch exclusively on PlayStation 5 this June, promises to be darker than previous entries in the series, having gotten a Mature rating from the ESRB due to violence and sexual elements.

　　Players use swords and magical attacks (e.g., fireballs, lighting strikes) to kill characters in melee-style combat. During fighting sequences, players can perform cinematic attacks/finishing moves by following on-screen prompts. Battles are fast paced, accompanied by impact sounds, cries of pain, and large explosions. Blood-splatter effects frequently occur when characters are slashed and killed. Cutscenes depict additional acts of violence and blood: a character's hands severed by a sword; a guard's throat slit by a knife; a character impaled through the chest; a prisoner's shoulder stabbed and twisted by an interrogator's blade.