Development Of ‘Final Fantasy XV’ Nearing Its End, Says Director

Square Enix's Exhibit At E3 — People play games at the Square ENIX, Inc. exhibit at E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, in Los Angeles, California, June 11, 2013. Reuters/David McNee

Though it offers a generous portion of gameplay, next month’s release of the “Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae” demo is only a tiny portion of Square Enix’s mammoth JRPG project. Game director Hajime Tabata has stated that the game is now roughly 60 percent complete, and he wants to assure fans that the end is in sight.

If the development that the game is only just over halfway complete comes as a disappointment, it shouldn't. Speaking to IGN, Tabata explains that developing an open-world game means some areas get completed faster than others.

“In some ways I’m being very conservative in my estimates there and not wanting to put out too big a number. Developing big games on a large scale like this... it’s not very even in terms of each area of the game being created, so you have uneven development,” he said.

In its coverage, PushSquare notes that Tabata mentions that development of the game will be much faster in the near future. The director states that from time to time, the development of the title surges ahead by up to 10 percent at any given time.

Tabata has stated in the past that the “Final Fantasy XV” demo features at least three hours gameplay, possibly more if players choose to explore and take their time. Gamespot reports that the demo features at least one dungeon to explore, and wandering around the region looking for monsters and items could take up three to four hours.

The world of “Final Fantasy XV” represents a level of detail previously unheard of in a “Final Fantasy” game. In a follow-up interview with IGN, Tabata stated that the team is working hard to create a more realistic “Final Fantasy” game. He said that their aim is to create a living, breathing world filled with realistic creatures and believable characters. As GameRevolution notes in their coverage of the story, Tabata has a history of bringing an edge to “Final Fantasy” games, as evidenced by his last directorial effort, “Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.”

“Final Fantasy XV” was originally revealed nearly a decade ago at Sony’s E3 2006 press conference as “Final Fantasy Versus XIII.” A number of setbacks during development meant that the game’s target platform was shifted from PlayStation 3 to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as the team worked toward release. It would appear development is finally coming to a conclusion, and gamers will get a chance to sample Tabata’s work when the demo hits on March 17, attached to first-run prints of “Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.”

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