Beware, Final Fantasy 16 is breaking PS5s

It's fair enough that players have tripped over each other trying to get their start with Final Fantasy 16. The series might be preoccupied with its remakes and the continuation of Final Fantasy 7’s reimagining, but a new mainline title remains a big deal in the gaming world.

Clive Rosfield's adventure is proving to be a treat for newbies and established fans alike. But, this excitement could lead to total chaos, as it turns out Final Fantasy 16 is wreaking havoc on its hardware and is breaking PlayStation 5's.

Can Final Fantasy 16 break your PS5?

Though we expected Final Fantasy 16 would demand some pretty heavy firepower, it's clear that whatever the PS5 is packing, it isn't enough for the latest entry in Square Enix's fantasy franchise.

One Reddit user has shared their experience with FF16 taking over their console, reporting that the game blacked out during a cutscene, its rotors went into overdrive while spinning fast, and the PS5 finally shut off with three beeps.

This tends to indicate an overheating of the console, but with absolutely no warning, it is truly bizarre. "I know that this game is very demanding with all the boss battles and such and overheating messages being reported is known at this point but never have I experienced this," the user says.

"My room is fairly cooled with fans and AC running due to the summer heat and the PS5 is on the table top with lots of open space. Very little dust build up. I have never gotten any overheating warnings."

Final Fantasy 16 is freezing in the same spot

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Jumping into the comments of the post, it's immediately clear that this isn't a problem restricted to just one person. Many users have shared similar experiences in the Reddit post and reported that it's a specific moment forcing their games to freeze up and overheat their consoles too.

There is a common denominator of the same cutscene and playing the game in Graphics Mode, although others have reported crashes when things are scaled back in Performance Mode. The hot weather won't be helping, but it seems a simple fix would be to remove the console's plates and give your fans a good clean. 

Others have suggested making sure your PS5 is clear of dust AND then sticking a fan on it to make sure it doesn't melt. That seems like a lot of work for a supposedly new-gen console that's only a few years old. It's not a good look, and hopefully, a patch is inbound before our PS5s fry like an egg on a bonnet.