Final Fantasy 15 "will finally release" this year, director vows
Final Fantasy 15 is happening in 2016, although there's no guarantee it won't arrive on December 31.
The question of Final Fantasy 15's release date is a pointed one. Originally announced as Final Fantasy Versus 13 for PlayStation 3, it's been in the works for almost ten years.
Even now that we're officially in the year of the RPG's launch, we're still not entirely confident there won't be another delay - although things seem to have progressed remarkably since Tetsuya Nomura was kicked off, with Final Fantasy Type-0 lead Hajime Tabata stepping in to kick butts, take names and push out a playable demo.
"I vow to you all that every member in the team will do their best to the very last possible moment."
Despite our cynicism, a New Year's message to Final Fantasy fans on the Square Enix blog includes a promise from Tabata to continue working on the game right up to the "very last possible moment" - which will occur in 2016.
"We will finally release FF15 this year, in 2016," he said.
"I vow to you all that every member in the team will do their best to the very last possible moment taking responsibility and pride in their craft.
"We will do everything we can do to finish FFXV to create an experience we are incredibly proud of and one that you will enjoy and treasure."
Tabata thanked fans for their support, which probably means a great deal to a team exhausted by such a long development cycle. He also offered this cryptic comment regarding the proces so far, and what's to come:
"In development, previous phases required wisdom and strength. However, moving forward the final phase will focus on effort and willpower."
Hmm! Anyway, we don't have long to wait for more concrete information; when Square Enix finally slapped a 2016 window on Final Fantasy 15 at PAX Prime 2015, Tabata promised further details in March this year. Don't be hellishly surprised if we're looking at the fourth quarter. Or the next decade.
Now, Square - let's have some word on Kingdom Hearts 3, okay? Assuming Nomura isn't too distracted by Final Fantasy 7 Remake.