Is Final Fantasy 16 an MMO? – Answered

New gameplay (or rather a compilation of previously known elements) just dropped for Final Fantasy XVI showing the real extension of what Clive can do in this new action-oriented main title of the series. Various activities aside from the main campaign are made available in your Hideout, which may have more content than you could expect. Hell, it even looks like an online game at times. Would this title be a successor to Square Enix’s critically acclaimed MMORPG?

Is Final Fantasy XVI an MMO? – Answered

Final Fantasy XVI is a single-player game and is not an MMO by any means. The game follows the story of Clive Rosfield through his harsh path of revenge while trying to avoid that a cruel destiny falls upon humanity. The player will be controlling Clive exclusively, and you can’t customize his appearance as he’s the key character to the events unfold.

Despite having Naoki Yoshida, Producer and Director for Final Fantasy XIV (which is, in fact, an MMO) as the project head for the title, XVI is not shaping up to be an action-styled MMORPG, but a single-player experience. Yoshida has also stated his willingness to continue working on XIV for the next years to come, especially after its latest expansion’s absolute success. If XVI was an MMO, they would probably be slamming that on our ears for a while. 

Related: Final Fantasy XVI’s Action Combat Forges A New Path Forward | Preview

At first glance, a factor for seeing the game as an MMO might be, Yoshida aside, a visual similarity of various elements to those of the popular MMO which has a free trial up to Level 60 including the award-winning Heavensward expansion. There’s a big focus on Eikons just like in XIV’s story, for example. Garuda is a big story battle showcased in some trailers just like she was in XIV’s base game too. But aside from her similar appearance (which is inevitable; they’re the same being after all), her attacks differ from her online counterpart, even though they are still similar because… you know… they’re both Garuda.

The game is also filled with things that just scream “single-player” like difficulty modes and Quick-Time Events during battle. The game can definitely eat up your time, but not like an MMO would. Square already has a very competent for this task.