Square Enix investigate Final Fantasy 16 crashes and graphics after PS5 system update

Square Enix has acknowledged and opened an investigation into reports of game crashes and graphical issues in Final Fantasy 16, problems which have seemingly emerged following the recent PlayStation 5 system software update.

Writing on the Final Fantasy 16 Twitter account, the company said, “Following the recent release of the PlayStation 5 system update, there have been reports of the game crashing and graphical issues.

“We are currently working with SIE to investigate, and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.

“Please await our further updates.”

The latest PS5 firmware update was released last week, with Sony laying the foundations for a global rollout of a new customizable Welcome Hub, and direct party invite sharing with links. Additionally, the personalized 3D audio system that was in testing for the last few months with users has now gone live for all players.

However, console system updates also include a lot of behind the scenes changes that can affect game performance, providing system-level optimizations for specific games, new API hooks and more – they’re similar to installing driver updates on PC, or new versions of Windows. Sony doesn’t detail the changes made to that level of granularity, but it’s entirely possible that something they’ve done has not played well with Final Fantasy 16’s game engine – an adapted version of the engine used for Final Fantasy 14, as opposed to the Luminous Engine for FF15 and Forspoken, or Unreal Engine, which is used with the FF7 remakes.

The timing for this is rather unfortunate, since Square Enix posted the acknowledgement between all the promotional efforts for the Final Fantasy 16 PC release – it launched yesterday, 17th September.

It was also our PlayStation Game of the Year for 2023, with Nic saying in our review, “If you’re a fan of strong narrative experiences, Final Fantasy lore, breath-taking graphics and a particularly sassy Moogle, and you don’t mind a sprinkling of The Witcher, The Handmaid’s Tale and the many accents of Old Blighty, then Final Fantasy XVI is the game for you. Heck, it might just be the best Final Fantasy yet!”