In a new interview with IGN (opens in new tab), Final Fantasy 16 (opens in new tab) producer Naoki Yoshida said that Final Fantasy 16 (opens in new tab) is set in a geographically isolated area inspired by medieval Europe, where it is not practical to have an "ethnically diverse" cast He said that many black characters and people of color will not appear in the sequel because it is not feasible.

"This is a difficult question, but not an unexpected one, given the recent buzz about diversity in the entertainment media," said Yoshida. In response to the question, "But the answer I gave may disappoint you, depending on your personal expectations," Yoshida replied, "I'm not sure.

Yoshida's explanation is unconvincing but also historically inaccurate. People of color existed in medieval Europe and were not a transient ability. To cite one example, the Moors inhabited the Iberian Peninsula and all of southern Europe and ruled Spain for over 800 years. But it wouldn't matter: final fantasy is not a PhD thesis. It is up to the people who create the game to decide who will appear and who will not.

"From the earliest stages of development," Yoshida says, "our design concept has always featured medieval Europe heavily, incorporating the historical, cultural, political, and anthropological criteria that were popular at the time." In determining the most appropriate setting for the story we wanted to tell, the story of a land hit by a "plague," we felt it necessary to limit our scope to a single country, geographically and culturally isolated from the rest of the world, at a time when there were no planes, television or telephones, rather than creating something global in scope."

And because of the constraints imposed by this completely fictional setting, which Yoshida and the development team created from scratch, Final Fantasy 16 "could never be as realistically diverse as modern-day Earth."

The game was created in the same way that the world is today.

Not a great answer, but an overused one: the medieval obsession with "realism" has been used to justify the lack of diversity in games, including blockbusters like The Witcher (opens in new tab) and Kingdom Come (opens in new tab) It has been used many times in the past: as in blockbusters such as "Deliverance" (opens in new tab) and "Mordhau" (opens in new tab). (It is also often used to explain the absence of women in fantasy RPG settings.) But it is a rationale that falls apart on even the most cursory examination. What does "realism" mean when there are whole dragons flying around in the sky and neckers leaping out of the ground?

"Ultimately," Yoshida says, "we felt that while it was important to incorporate ethnic diversity into 'Valisia,' over-incorporating it into one part of the larger world could violate the narrative boundaries we had originally set. The story we are telling is certainly a fantasy, but at the same time it is one that is rooted in reality."

Yoshida also referred to the idea that diversity of thought is what really matters: "After all, we don't want to focus on the appearance of the characters, but on who they are as human beings: complex and diverse in their nature, background, beliefs, personalities, and motivations. We just want to focus on who they are as human beings, complex and diverse in their natures, backgrounds, beliefs, personalities, and motivations. They are people whose stories we can resonate with." There is diversity in Valisia. That diversity is not all-encompassing, but it synergizes with the setting we have created and is true to the inspiration we are drawing on."

Final Fantasy has always been a fairly white series, but even so, Yoshida's response to the issue of diversity was, as he expected, disappointing.

Final Fantasy 16 is an all-new mainline addition to the series, featuring entirely new characters in an all-new game world, and will debut on PlayStation 5 in summer 2023. A PC version was mentioned in the Final Fantasy 16 reveal trailer, but has since gone unrecognized, and Square Enix is promoting the game as a PS5 exclusive. If a PC version is in the works (which seems reasonable), it may be some time before it comes to fruition.