Final Fantasy 16 Gets Optimization For Xbox Ally, But Only On The Microsoft/Xbox Store

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I still remember how excited I was when Final Fantasy 16 made its way to PC. I loved it on PS5, but as a PC gamer primarily, I knew I was going to enjoy it much more on my desktop. Sadly, it wasn't as great to enjoy on the Steam Deck, and it can be very demanding. However, for more powerful handhelds, that isn't as much of an issue, and with the new Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, there will be even less of one.

A new update was released for Final Fantasy 16 that optimizes it for the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X, making it as playable on the devices as possible. While it doesn't note exactly what kind of performance we can expect, the Xbox store page for the game did get the "Handheld Optimized" badge, which notes that the game should perform and function correctly as is.

However, it seems as if this update may only be for copies of the game sold on the Xbox store. When I heard of the update, I reached out to see if this update will also be coming to the Steam version of the game, and was told that there wasn't any info to share on Steam updates. From what I gather, and seeing that the initial news I got specified the Microsoft/Xbox store, this update may only be available for those who purchase from that storefront.

Hopefully, this either changes soon or is clarified, since that leaves out a lot of people who have already purchased the game on Steam. I love seeing updates like this, and can't wait for more to come out for games, but not updating them on Steam as well could leave a lot of people out who have already purchased and may not want to re-purchase. I didn't get details on what exactly changed, so it's possible it wasn't much and it should be playable regardless, but it's still a little concerning.

Final Fantasy 16 can be purchased on the Xbox store for $49.99.

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