Square Enix Acknowledges Annoying Final Fantasy 16 Problem

Square-Enix has officially acknowledged a recently discovered bug revolving around Final Fantasy 16‘s New Game+ mode, resulting in a soft lock that does not allow players to progress. The launch of the newest main-series entry in the long-running RPG franchise last summer came with critical acclaim, lauded at the time as one of the best RPGs of 2023. Final Fantasy 16 received a nomination for “Best Role-Playing Game” at the 2023 Game Awards, and won the award for “Best Score and Music” during the show. Now, a new bug is plaguing fans’ new playthroughs of the game.

Players can first unlock Final Fantasy 16‘s New Game+ mode after completing the game’s story for the first time, offering fresh incentives for starting another run. New Game+ allows players to carry over their characters’ statistics and equipment into their next playthrough of the game. New Game+ also offers players the “Final Fantasy” difficulty for Final Fantasy 16, boasting stronger enemies to challenge and rearranged appearances of the game’s foes. However, a major bug is now serving as a major hindrance to freshly started New Game+ runs.

As reported by PushSquare, Square-Enix recently acknowledged a significant bug with Final Fantasy 16‘s New Game+ mode from its official social media. According to Square-Enix, the bug can occur when players skip the in-game Prologue, causing a small chance of party members not being properly added. The bug will prevent players from continuing Final Fantasy 16‘s fourth main quest, “A Chance Encounter,” locking fans from progressing in the game. Square-Enix did confirm the development team is already working on pushing out a fix for the bug.

Square-Enix Acknowledges Final Fantasy 16 New Game+ Bug

Square-Enix also provided several temporary workarounds for players experiencing the bug within Final Fantasy 16‘s New Game+ challenge. The developer suggested that players should load the save data used to start a New Game+ run and travel to a different location on Final Fantasy 16‘s world map. Starting New Game+ with the new save file, Square-Enix also advised that players should not skip the Prologue, in order to avoid encountering the bug before a patch is made available. Square-Enix did not give a time frame for when a hotfix to Final Fantasy 16 would be available.

While the newly discovered bug is hindering some players’ experiences with Final Fantasy 16, Square-Enix has regularly updated the RPG with new content. Final Fantasy 16 has already seen two story-focused DLC packages release, with The Rising Tide debuting earlier this month. Final Fantasy 16 also saw crossover content based on the game added to Final Fantasy 14, including Final Fantasy 16‘s Ifrit as a boss within the MMORPG. Square-Enix will look to address the New Game+ bug quickly, so that more players can enjoy their newest adventures in Valisthea.

Final Fantasy 16

Final Fantasy 16 is an action RPG developed by Square Enix. Set in the land of Valisthea, six different factions are on the brink of war due to a spreading disease known as the Blight. Much of the plot revolves around summoned monsters called Eikons, who are controlled by unique humans called Dominants. 

Released

June 22, 2023

Genre(s)

Action RPG

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence