The next Final Fantasy game may be changing things up by leaning towards a more adult audience. Following the release of the Final Fantasy XVI announcement trailer that debuted at Sony’s latest PlayStation 5 showcase event, it’s been revealed that Final fantasy XVI has received a provisional rating of ’18’ from PEGI, essentially the European version of the ESRB’s M for Mature.

The news comes by way of a recent set of PR emails focused on Final Fantasy XVI sent out by Square Enix. Towards the bottom of the emails is the provisional ’18’ rating from PEGI, which in essence suggests that, while the rating itself isn’t final, the game is currently headed in the direction of being the equivalent of a ‘Mature’ rating, a rarity for the Final Fantasy franchise.

It’s currently anyone’s guess as to why the game has the potential to be rated for adults. While the reveal trailer did seem to be more mature in nature in comparison to other recent Final Fantasy games, there was nothing shown that seemed like ‘too much’ for a younger audience. It’s certainly possible that we’ll see some indicative elements moving forward, though for now all we have to go by is the provisional rating and the first trailer. The good news is that we shouldn’t need to wait too long to learn more, as Final Fantasy XVI will apparently release sooner than expected.

Final Fantasy XVI is currently in development.

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