We’ve known since April that Square Enix was planning to show Final Fantasy XV at Gamescom, not E3, so fan expectations have been pretty high. Whether or not those expectations were met is another story, but two big pieces of information have come out of the event.
The first is the game’s new trailer, released earlier this week, but the second is perhaps more important. Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata confirmed to GameSpot that the game would be released some time in 2016, saying: “We can certainly say to people: it’s not going to be 2017. It’s going to be before that.”
Square Enix has been careful not to promise an exact release date, but this is the closest indication of a date we’ve seen so far, and while the company hasn’t shared an exact release date, that doesn’t mean one hasn’t been set. “Certainly, one thing I would like to say to them to reassure them, is that we’ve set down the release date, we know when it is, and we’ve got a complete road map lined up, right up to launch, and we’re proceeding along that as planned,” Tabata said.
As for new information on the game, the “Dawn” trailer released at Gamescom focuses more on the game’s backstory. Set 15 years before what we’ve seen of the game until now, the trailer shows King Regis holding a young Prince Noctis before the camera pans out to reveal three massive figures looming in the distance.
More details were dropped during a presentation, including some information on the game’s villain. “He won’t be beaten by any of the previous villains,” Tabata said. “He’s going to top all of them.” It was also revealed that the team still hasn’t decided whether or not to include the Final Fantasy franchise’s iconic airships.
Considering Final Fantasy XV‘s more open world, airships aren’t as easy to add as they once were. “Where we are right now, I think that height would be technically possible,” Tabata said, “but we’re currently looking into making them fly properly at a greater height.”
Final Fantasy XV will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and while we still don’t know an actual release date, we’re hoping Tabata is right about not having to wait until 2017.
