Final Fantasy 16 is releasing on June 22 and while many fans can’t wait to get their hands on the next entry in Square Enix’s long-running JRPG series, others are choosing to boycott the game due to its apparent lack of diversity.
Final Fantasy 16 is set in a European medieval-inspired world but has been criticized by some fans and publications, such as The Verge and Kotaku, due to the trailers released in the run-up to the game’s launch only featuring white characters.
Square Enix producer Naoki Yoshida addressed this lack of diversity in an interview with IGN, but his comments on representation with Final Fantasy 16 have resulted in further criticism—and some players deciding to boycott the game entirely.
What did Naoki Yoshida say about Final Fantasy 16’s lack of diversity?
In the interview with IGN, Yoshida was asked about whether we can expect to see black characters in Final Fantasy 16, or people of color generally. In response, Yoshida claimed that due to the game’s world of Valisthea being heavily influenced by medieval Europe, it was “never going to realistically be as diverse as say a modern-day Earth” and that this fits the “isolated nature of this realm.”
The producer went on to say he felt that while “incorporating ethnic diversity into Valisthea was important,” an “over-incorporation” in this land could cause a “violation” of the “narrative boundaries” the studio had set. “The story we are telling is fantasy, yes, but it is also rooted in reality,” Yoshida said.
The producer also explained that he wants players to be less focused on “the outward appearance” of Final Fantasy 16’s characters and instead focus on who they are as people.
This wasn’t the straightforward response some had hoped for and Yoshida himself admitted that his answer may be “disappointing” to some.
Related: Not even this Alan Wake 2 guest could have fixed Summer Game Fest Live’s diversity issue
Why are some players boycotting Final Fantasy 16?
Yoshida’s response was met with further backlash, with some pointing out the contradiction of Final Fantasy 16 not featuring people of color due to the game being set in the medieval time period, yet including other elements that are not appropriate for the time period. Others have pointed out that people of color existed in medieval Europe.
As a result of this lack of diversity and Yoshia’s response to the issue, as reported by Eurogamer, some players have chosen to boycott the game.
In a Resetera thread titled “Will You Boycott Final Fantasy 16 Due to The Lack of Diversity & Minority Characters?,” poster bshark questioned why players would still purchase Final Fantasy 16 despite their concerns, suggesting that “the best way to send a message to square would be to ‘vote with your wallet.’”
“I’m not buying it,” one poster wrote. “To be completely honest, knowing that Starfield and Dragon’s Dogma are coming with black characters and black character creation make it really easy to skip FFXVI.”
But others have voiced that they will be playing Final Fantasy 16 despite the controversy. “If I boycotted games due to lack of diversity in terms of characters that looked like me, I wouldn’t have shit to play outside of a few indies at best to put it very bluntly,” another poster wrote. “Rep for black women in gaming is abysmal across the board and I would say it’s even worse for south asian woman, south american women, etc.”
According to Eurogamer, a poll that was previously attached to the thread (which has since been removed) collected over 1,200 responses from players, but only 40 people answered that they will intentionally be boycotting the game due to its lack of diversity, while the remaining voters either planned to still purchase the game or didn’t plan to pick it up anyway.
