Since the PlayStation 3 generation, updates released on a game’s launch day, colloquially known as Day One patches or updates, have been the norm. Sometimes they’re small, squashing a few last-minute bugs, but other times, they’re massive and nigh essential to enjoying the adventure before you.
However, Day One patches draw criticism from players excited to jump into the action, only to be left watching a download bar fill up. Some players with slower internet or limited access might be left waiting for hours, if not days, depending on download speeds. During my Final Fantasy XVI cover story trip, I asked the team about its March accomplishment of going gold and what the team was working on now.
To my surprise, developer Creative Business Unit III isn’t working on a day one patch, a revelation that continues to become rarer with each new release in games. Director Hiroshi Takai gave me a few reasons as to why.
Final Fantasy XVI Director Hiroshi Takai
Final Fantasy XVI Director Hiroshi Takai
The first is that the team is confident in its final build of Final Fantasy XVI. The second is that he and producer Naoki Yoshida (and the rest of the CBUIII team) believe the game should be ready to go at launch, recognizing that not everyone has access to the internet needed to download a day one patch in light of Final Fantasy XVI’s global simultaneous release. So as of right now, we won’t be downloading a big patch on June 22 when the game hits PlayStation 5.
However, Takai notes that CBUIII is testing the game daily and searching for bugs, and things could change as a result, but right now, like in the days of old Final Fantasy, this entry should work entirely as expected out of the box.
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