TheXboxplatform has usually not been the go-to place for JRPGs. As the only American console manufacturer in the industry, Microsoft has often struggled with getting Japanese games on its platform, in part because ofXbox’s poor commercial performance in Asian territories. Even when Xbox consoles were at their most popular during the Xbox 360 generation, many of the biggest JRPG series opted to skip the platform. Aside from a few occasional exceptions, games in thePersona,Mana,Kingdom Hearts,Tales,Yakuza, andDragon Questfranchises, for example, were only available on PlayStation and/or Nintendo consoles at the time.
Even though Xbox’s popularity in Japan and other Asian countries hasn’t really improved that much, Xbox has received a lot more notable JRPGs in recent years. Many of the biggest franchises in the genre that were once alien to the platform, likePersona, arenow readily available on Xbox Series X/S, and some JRPGs are even being released on Xbox Game Pass on day one. There’s one major JPRG series, however, that has largely avoided the Xbox platform during this console generation:Final Fantasy. Due to some recent announcements, though, the Xbox Series X/S is now technically the best console to playFinal Fantasyon, even more so than the PlayStation 5.
Xbox is Now the Only Console that Can Play All Mainline Single-Player Final Fantasy Games
Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake Have Just Been Announced for Xbox
Right at the tail-end of the Xbox Games Showcase this week, Square Enix showed up to announce that bothFinal Fantasy 16andFinal Fantasy 7 Remake Intergradewould finally be launched on Xbox Series X/S, after years of being exclusive to PlayStation consoles.FF7 Remake’s Xbox portis slated to come out sometime in winter 2025, alongside the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 release.FF16, meanwhile, is out on Xbox consoles right now, and it’s available at a reduced price of $50. BothFF7 RemakeandFF16support Xbox Play Anywhere, meaning that players can seamlessly play these titles across PC, cloud, and Xbox Series X/S without having to pay extra.
Final Fantasy 16was originally released on PlayStation 5 in June 2023, and it took the game roughly two years to make its way to Xbox consoles. Thanks to its multi-platform release, though, the Xbox Series X/S is now the only console on the market that can play all single-player mainlineFinal Fantasygames, fromFF1toFF16. The only numberedFinal Fantasyinstallment that can’t be played on modern Xbox consoles, however, isFF11.This game is an MMORPG, similar toFF14, and although it was released on Xbox 360 back in the day, its console versions were discontinued in 2016. Now,FF11is a PC-exclusive game.
Unlike the Xbox Series X/S, the PlayStation 5 Can’t Play the Final Fantasy 13 Trilogy
Even though the PlayStation 5 has gotten preferential treatment from Square Enix with regard toFinal Fantasygames this generation, it is still missing one major collection of titles that is currently available on Xbox: theFF13trilogy.Final Fantasy 13and its direct sequels,Final Fantasy 13-2andLightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13, were released on the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the early 2010s, but they were never ported to modern consoles. In spite of this, theFF13trilogy is playable on Xbox Series X/S via backwards compatibility, a feature that the PS5 does not have for PS3 games.
Some Noteworthy Final Fantasy Games are Still Not on Xbox
While the Xbox Series X/S does have all the mainline single-playerFinal Fantasygames, it’s worth noting that there are some significantFFtitles that aren’t available on the console.The PS5-exclusiveFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, for instance, has still not been released on Xbox, and certain spin-off entries likeDissidia Final Fantasy NT,Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered, andChocobo’s Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy!have oddly skipped the platform. Although most of these titles will likely never come toXbox(despite being available on PlayStation and/or Nintendo consoles for several years), the Xbox Series X/S is still the king of the console space for mainlineFinal Fantasygames.
