Game developer and publisher Square Enix just revealed the 10-month window in which Final Fantasy XV will launch.
Final Fantasy XV will launch worldwide in 2016, but Square won't release the game before March, the company announced during its Active Time Panel at Pax in Seattle on Saturday. That's because Square is planning a major Final Fantasy XV event in March, during which the company will share more about what the game will entail.
Director Hajime Tabata told IGN that Square plans to hold another Active Time Panel during the Tokyo Game Show, which runs from Sept. 17 through 20. Square will offer new details about characters Luna and Regis during the panel, but the Japanese studio won't commit to a release date until the event in March.
Around the beginning of August, Tabata said that Square would offer more details about Final Fantasy XV's launch during Pax. He told fans not to expect the game before 2016 but assured them that Square will release Final Fantasy XV before 2017.
Tabata also revealed that the next Final Fantasy game will launch at the same time across all regions, something the studio hasn't done with the in the past with "major" entries into the franchise.
"This may be something that we are a little bit embarrassed to talk about, but really, this is the first time that we've done a packaged, standalone Final Fantasy game with a simultaneous global launch," Tabata said. "So we didn't have the setup to deal with that, really."
Final Fantasy XV follows Noctis, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Lucis, as he travels to meet his betrothed. Their marriage will secure peace between two warring states, or so the Lucian people think.
However, the peace offer is just a plot to get the Lucian kingdom to lower its guard, and it works. After the imperial army overtakes Lucis, Notics, his betrothed and his father, the king, are believed to have died in the coup.
"Overnight, the dream of peace has faded into a distant memory," Square says. "His world crumbling around him, Noctis has naught but his resolve and his loyal companions to see him through the trials to come."
