Why can’t I carry over my demo save in Final Fantasy 16?

We all played the demo in the hope that we could go straight to the fun stuff once we booted the whole game. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me and—reportedly—many other PS5 Final Fantasy XVI players. Here’s why you can’t carry over your demo save in Final Fantasy 16.

Why can’t I carry my demo save to the full FFXVI game?

The answer is simple: if your copy of Final Fantasy XVI is a physical one and of a different region from your PSN account where you downloaded the game, your demo save won't carry over. For example, my account is set in North America but my CD is in Japan. This incompatibility resulted in my NA disc being unable to recognize my demo save file.

You can carry over your save, no problem, if your disc and PSN regions are the same. Moreso if you buy the game digitally, as both your demo game are your full game are downloaded from the same regional server.

Related: Final Fantasy 16 All Trophies list

Of course, that’s not to say that you can’t play discs from other regions on your PS5. Physical discs are never region locked. You can even still collect trophies. Some of your physical discs just might not be DLC-compatible with the ones you download using your other-region PSN account.

However, I did manage to purchase the FF7 Intergrade DLC and the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind one even if both of my games were R3/Asia, so I honestly don’t think it’ll be an issue. In any case, FF16 director Naoki Yoshida promised that the base Final Fantasy XVI game will be a complete game. If enough interest is generated from that game, that’s the only time the team might consider a DLC (even though it’s unlikely).

For more help with Final Fantasy XVI, take a look at Does Final Fantasy 16 have new game plus? here at Pro Game Guides.