Final Fantasy 16 was co-developed with Nier Automata's combat genius

Final Fantasy 16
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 16 was co-developed by both PlatinumGames and Kingdom Hearts 4's dev team.

Yesterday on June 11 saw Final Fantasy 16's big launch event in LA, where the likes of producer Naoki Yoshida and director Hiroshi Takai were in attendance. During the event, it was also revealed that the dev team teamed up with the likes of PlatinumGames and Kingdom Hearts 4's dev team for help, as first reported by VGC.

In a video message, PlatinumGames CEO Atsushi Inaba revealed a team at PlatinumGames headed up by Takahisa Taura was asked to help develop Final Fantasy 16. Taura is the mastermind behind Nier Automata's ace combat system, and directed the excellent Astral Chain a few years later, so his team helping out with Final Fantasy 16 is a huge deal.

Additionally, Kingdom Hearts 4's co-director Tai Yasue revealed in a video message that the sequel's dev team had been asked to help out. Specifically, the Kingdom Hearts 4 dev team was asked to help develop battles, and Yasue said it was a huge surprise, and honor, to be asked to help co-develop Final Fantasy 16 along with the internal dev team.

Finally, game producer Naoki Yoshida added that he wouldn't reveal which sections in particular were designed by Taura's team and the Kingdom Hearts 4 team, but he would reveal this information after launch. It'll be interesting to see whether players can spot the sections that were specifically outsourced to each external development team.

Final Fantasy 16 launches later this month on June 22 as a PS5 exclusive. As of earlier today on June 12, a demo has now launched in regions around the world, and your progress can be carried over to the final game.

Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a full look ahead at all the other exclusives lined up for the new-gen console.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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