Is Final Fantasy 16 open world?

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Final Fantasy 16 poster image with black background and text

Is Final Fantasy 16 open world? We've got the answer. In 2023, which is shaping up to be a year full of AAA releases, Final Fantasy 16 is among the most eagerly awaited titles. Square Enix fans have a lot to look forward to, but those hoping for another Final Fantasy game with a massive open world may be let down.

Like the previous instalment, many people expect Final Fantasy 16 to have an open world. Fans often want a sequel that features open world gameplay and a larger environment with more things to do. Now that the game is getting closer to release, let's look at what to expect.

While you are here, don't forget to check out our other articles on Final Fantasy! You can read up on all the Final Fantasy 16 characters confirmed so far, as long as a look at the pre order bonuses. On top of that, read up on whether Final Fantasy 16 is an MMO.

Is Final Fantasy 16 open world?

Like other recent games in the series, Final Fantasy 16 will feature larger areas but not an open world. There will be a clear limit, although players can explore vast areas. In this manner, Final Fantasy 16 can display a smaller overall region, while highlighting more specific areas.

Producer Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida stated that this was due to the Final Fantasy series losing appeal among today's younger gamers. They imitated the strategies used by well-known games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus to draw in a younger audience this time around. They learned from these games that larger games don't necessarily have to be open world, but can instead consist of several larger locations.

Final Fantasy 16 image featuring a in-game character
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Due to this, the developers decided against creating another open world role-playing game, and instead created several sizeable areas for players to explore, most likely including the six realms of Valisthea. They could then add a tonne of detail to each location and expand the playable area to any desired size.

Since the developers may create each world as big as they like without worrying about how they fit together, many zones have a lot of detail in each sub-world. The Hideaway zone in Final Fantasy 16 will use this, one of the main advantages of having zones.

What will be included in the Final Fantasy 16 world?

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More information has been made public about the kind of experience players can expect from Valisthea, now that the game is moving closer to release and more and more people are speaking about it before the official launch.

According to director Hiroshi Takai, the developers didn't make any secret dungeons or portions of the map. This is because they planned everything to be tied to the plot and wanted players to gain all the information themselves. Yoshi-P emphasised that despite the game not being open world, there will still be much to explore in Valisthea.

That's it for our look at the Final Fantasy 16 open world! For more on the game, read up on the Final Fantasy 16 length, as well as our summons list.

For more articles like this, take a look at our Guides and Final Fantasy 16 page.