Square Enix has finally announced a release window for the sixth and final pixel remastered Final Fantasy game. Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster will arrive in February of next year, just in time for you to play it on your Steam Deck.
Why the long wait? Square Enix said it was so that they can ensure the final remaster in the series lives up to expectations. "In order to bring you the best experience possible, we're giving ourselves the necessary time to apply final polish while finishing development on the game."
The first three Pixel Remasters arrived all at once last summer, but Final Fantasy 4 & 5 didn't arrive until September and November, respectively. Final Fantasy 6 is the last Final Fantasy game that had pixel graphics before moving on to 3D polygons, and it's a beloved entry in the series.
It's a little odd for FF6 to need so much more time than the rest of the franchise, but this 3-2-1 countdown of Pixel Remasters might be worth the wait. Square Enix is also including a bunch of pre-order items for those that purchased the Pixel Remaster bundle back in July or plan to purchase FF6 Pixel Remaster individually when it goes on sale.
That stuff includes two FF6 Pixel Remaster wallpapers, two more wallpapers celebrating the entire Pixel Remaster series, and Timelapse Remix versions of five FF6 songs. Square Enix explained that the Timelapse Remixes start off as the original tune before gradually becoming the alternative soundtrack version.
Final Fantasy 6 Pixel Remaster isn't available for individual pre-order quite yet, but you can wishlist the game on Steam.
The delay could be explained by Square Enix getting a little nervous about releasing poor ports on PC after Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The game reportedly had poor optimization that fans had to fix themselves via a mod that disabled the game's dynamic resolution. Hopefully, Square Enix releases a patch that fixes dynamic resolution so the mod becomes unnecessary.