True third-party console exclusives are rare in this day and age, and yet, Square Enix’s much-anticipated Final Fantasy XVI will be available on PS5, and only PS5, when it launches later this summer. The game will eventually come to PC, but producer Naoki Yoshida has made it clear we’ll be waiting longer than the contractual 6-month PS5 exclusivity agreement for a port.

　　So, why is Final Fantasy XVI bucking industry trends and sticking to PS5? Well, according to an interview with Yoshida from Japanese gaming site 4Gamer, Sony is actually a co-developer of FF16, working closely with Square Enix to ensure the game is fully optimized on PS5. Getting the full heft of the PlayStation’s worldwide marketing team behind FF16 doesn’t hurt either.

　　“From our point of view, the technical support we receive from the hardware manufacturer is a big factor to signing [exclusivity] contracts.

　　This time, there was a [time period] where we were developing together with SIE engineers, who know the hardware thoroughly down to the core and we received generous support in optimization that we could not manage on our own and so on. Also, by not developing on the premise of multiple platforms, we could invest more man-hours into things such as building the game and optimization. In addition, we can also do promotions together globally that make me wonder, ‘How much would this be if it was converted to money?’ Technological and promotional support are things we would like to receive if we can receive them.”

　　Interestingly, in Wccftech’s recent interview with the producers of Final Fantasy XVI, Yoshida confirmed that the game is running on an all-new engine (rather than the Luminous Engine of FF15 and Forspoken) -- an engine it sounds like Sony may have helped develop. That may go a long way to explaining why the game will be debuting on PS5.

　　“To talk a little bit about business, Forspoken and Final Fantasy XVI began development around the same time. Final Fantasy XVI is actually using an engine we’ve created specifically for Final Fantasy XVI, so there isn’t much sharing of technology between the Forspoken and Final Fantasy teams.”

　　Final Fantasy XVI debuts on PS5 on June 22. What do you think? Excited to see Square Enix and Sony really make the PS5 sing?