It looks like Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XVI is getting a new update very soon.

Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XVI released on PlayStation 5 all the way back in June, selling 3 million copies in less than a week, and currently rests at a Metacritic score of 87.  Although many games receive updates post-launch, Square Enix has not released many patches for Final Fantasy XVI post-launch.  Only recently have they added controller configurations, and a motion blur slider, which can be considered quality of life changes, but nothing too major with how the game plays.  It was not until recently that Square Enix announced a release date for a new update, which includes ‘Arcade Mode’ changes.

Final Fantasy XVI Arcade Mode update planned for September 3, 2023 #FF16

Update details

– Battle performance evaluation in Arcade Mode will be adjusted
– New leaderboard will be established
– After update is applied, battle performance will be recorded on the new leaderboard
-… pic.twitter.com/fbqJ2PHez7

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) August 27, 2023

This comes from Genki_JPN on X/Twitter, who posted the release date for the new update, as well as the Japanese update log made from the official Final Fantasy XVI website.  Although I can’t read or understand Japanese, Genki provides the translated list of features coming in the new update on September 3rd in their tweet

According to Genki, who translated from the official site,  the update details include, “Battle performance evaluation in Arcade Mode will be adjusted; New leaderboard will be established; After update is applied, battle performance will be recorded on the new leaderboard; Please be aware that you will no longer be able to record on the current leaderboard More details of the update will be announced at the time of distribution.” 

If you’re not familiar with what ‘Arcade Mode’ does, it essentially allows players to replay stages or certain challenges in the game, and get higher scores, or missed achievements.  It can also serve as a way for players to replay story missions while keeping current weapons and abilities, or to test new abilities. 

When Final Fantasy XVI first released, it didn’t have many bugs or performance issues.  The only big issue was some PlayStation 5 owners reporting that their consoles were overheating, but this could have been anything from dust, a design issue, or a bug in the game.