Between both rumor and confirmation of its existence from the development team, fans have been awaiting a demo forFinal Fantasy 16for quite some time. Thankfully, the long wait came to an end on June 12 with the release of the demo forFinal Fantasy 16and the confirmation that the title was just as polished as previews had been indicating for months. As one of the landmark releases of 2023, the demo serves to drum up excitement for the release ofFinal Fantasy 16and offers a slice of what’s to come in the full game. When it comes to a pre-release strategy, it’s hard to not draw comparisons betweenFF16andDiablo 4.
In the lead-up toDiablo 4’s release, players were granted access to three separate betas (one closed and two open) that showed off just enough of the game to leave people wanting more. Additionally, theseearly experiences withDiablo 4presented players with a very polished and feature-rich experience that acted as a proof-of-concept for the main release and merely whet the appetites of fans. The success ofDiablo 4’s betas helped to boost sales of the game during its launch window, and now the demo ofFinal Fantasy 16has similarly hyped up the title ahead of its June 22 release.
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The Demo and Betas for Final Fantasy 16 and Diablo 4 Establish Developers' Confidence in Their Games
While it was once a much more common occurrence for developers to release demos of their games ahead of release, the practice has somewhat fallen by the wayside in the last several console generations. With many titles now making the shift to an always-online or live-service model and relying on post-launch patches, DLC, and expansions to flesh out titles into fully-functioning experiences, the beta has supplanted the demo as the means for players to get their hands on a title ahead of launch.Final Fantasy 16’s demois refreshing in that it presents a playable slice of what is, by all accounts, a very polished and finished experience.
Blizzard can be commended for how they handled the pre-release and multiple betas forDiablo 4thanks to a similar confidence in its title, granting players multiple chances to experience the game pre-launch and giving them assurance that the game would release as a complete product. BothDiablo 4andFinal Fantasy 16are two of the marquis releases of 2023, and both games' developers have granted fans the opportunity to experience small segments of each title to make informed purchasing decisions. These first glimpses into each title helped to establish that each game was an experience worthy of players' time and money while also showcasing the hard work of the games' development teams.
Final Fantasy 16’s Demo May Boost Sales Similar to Diablo 4’s Beta Periods
It almost goes without saying that thelaunch ofDiablo 4has been a resounding successfor Blizzard, generating over $600 million in revenue and maintaining millions of concurrent players in the days since its release. Part of this success could likely be attributed to the beta periods, which gave fans confidence that the title was shaping up to be everything that they had hoped for and expected given the previews and development history. The release ofFinal Fantasy 16’s demo may have a similar effect, swaying any players who may have been on the fence about the title and drawing in new fans to the series.
Recent reports indicated that Square Enix was concerned regarding thenumber of pre-orders forFinal Fantasy 16, but those figured might experience a significant boost after the release of the demo. Between a strong first impression, no plans for a day-1 patch, and no planned DLC,Final Fantasy 16is that rare game that releases fully-baked on its launch day and offers players a complete experience. Players won’t have long to wait to get their hands on the full game, and it’s shaping up to be every bit the Game of the Year contender as its ARPG contemporaryDiablo 4.
