Square Enix Confirms Final Fantasy XV Delayed Until November 29th
Square Enix is putting the word out to retailers and the public at large that Final Fantasy XV will not ship on September 30, 2016, as previously stated at Pax Prime. The new release date is November 29, 2016, which gives Square Enix a couple of extra months to apply some final coats of polish. While that might be disappointing to some fans, the good news here is that it's practically finished and almost ready to finally ship.
That's nothing to take for granted. Final Fantasy XV was first announced to be in development a decade ago at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). After several years went by without much information on the game, some questioned whether the 15th major installment in the Final Fantasy series would ever see the light of day.
In a video posted to YouTube, Square Enix game director Hajime Tabata explains that work on the master version of Final Fantasy XV recently wrapped up, but at a level of quality that the developer/publisher wasn't confident would live up to the standards and expectations of players.
"Our objective with Final Fantasy XV was to deliver a Final Fantasy of the highest possible quality, to ever single person who buys the game. We have completed the master version, but when it comes to that highest possible quality, we felt that we had not quite reached this standing yet," Tabata said. "Accordingly, in order to make this master version an even better product, we have been creating a downloadable add-on known as a patch."
It's a day-one patch, and though it has "pretty substantial content in it," Tabata says it's still a step away from the quality Square Enix is aiming for. That being the case, Tabata and Square Enix decided not to release the current master version and day-one patch at all, and instead take a little extra time to launch a higher quality product.
"I am very sorry, but I must ask for just a little more time to polish our game up some more," Tabata states in his video. "We are changing the release day of Final Fantasy XV to the 29th of November 2016."
The version slated for November 29 will contain everything that would have been included in the day-one patch, plus some extras. And just as importantly, it will ship at a level of quality Square Enix feels is more appropriate than what's currently finished. If that's the case, it's hard to fault the developer for taking a couple of extra months to clean things up.
That's nothing to take for granted. Final Fantasy XV was first announced to be in development a decade ago at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). After several years went by without much information on the game, some questioned whether the 15th major installment in the Final Fantasy series would ever see the light of day.
In a video posted to YouTube, Square Enix game director Hajime Tabata explains that work on the master version of Final Fantasy XV recently wrapped up, but at a level of quality that the developer/publisher wasn't confident would live up to the standards and expectations of players.
"Our objective with Final Fantasy XV was to deliver a Final Fantasy of the highest possible quality, to ever single person who buys the game. We have completed the master version, but when it comes to that highest possible quality, we felt that we had not quite reached this standing yet," Tabata said. "Accordingly, in order to make this master version an even better product, we have been creating a downloadable add-on known as a patch."
It's a day-one patch, and though it has "pretty substantial content in it," Tabata says it's still a step away from the quality Square Enix is aiming for. That being the case, Tabata and Square Enix decided not to release the current master version and day-one patch at all, and instead take a little extra time to launch a higher quality product.
"I am very sorry, but I must ask for just a little more time to polish our game up some more," Tabata states in his video. "We are changing the release day of Final Fantasy XV to the 29th of November 2016."
The version slated for November 29 will contain everything that would have been included in the day-one patch, plus some extras. And just as importantly, it will ship at a level of quality Square Enix feels is more appropriate than what's currently finished. If that's the case, it's hard to fault the developer for taking a couple of extra months to clean things up.
