Final Fantasy fans are planning to boycott Final Fantasy 16

It seems that the video game industry is never far away from controversy and a boycott, and the Final Fantasy series is no exception.

The Final Fantasy series from Square Enix is without a doubt one of the most iconic in the video game industry. Since 1987, this epic franchise has been taking fans on incredible adventures across the realms offering a signature level of immersion like no other. The most recent entry in the series, Final Fantasy XVI, is coming to PlayStation 5 this week. Final Fantasy XVI is already shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2023. However, even before the game has launched, it's facing backlash.

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Simply put, in all of the trailers that we’ve seen so far for Final Fantasy XVI, the characters featured in the world of Valisthea are predominantly fair-skinned. When speaking to IGN in November 2022, producer Naoki Yoshida attempted to justify why this is, explaining that it's due to the game's medieval European inspiration. The issue is, this is a common misconception. Experts believe that medieval societies in Europe were in fact multi racial.

Of course, there are members of the Final Fantasy community who are unhappy with this lack of diversity in FFXVI, as well as the response given by Yosida last year. As reported by Eurogamer, some of those angered are boycotting the game to let their voices be heard. “Will you boycott Final Fantasy 16 due to the lack of diversity [and] minority characters?” posted bshark on ResetEra.

“I am. It’s not particularly difficult either, given just how many games there are to play,” replied IMCaprica. “It won’t move the needle, but it’ll make me feel better about my purchases.” Neoxon added, "The diversity comments legitimately did put me off from buying the game, [and] certain spoilers only exacerbated that."

Final Fantasy XVI releases this week on 22 June for PlayStation 5. If you want to try the latest Final Fantasy game before you buy, you can play the demo now for free. What’s more, we were recently treated to the first Final Fantasy VII Rebirth gameplay trailer and it was stunning.