Square Enix had plenty to show for Final Fantasy XV’s ever-expanding universe at Gamescom 2017, but one thing that isn’t in the works is a full sequel for the RPG.
“If you do that full sequel model of expanding on an IP or a series, it’s good in certain ways,” Hajime Tabata told Polygon at Gamescom 2017. “The negative of that is there’s a very large open period where you’re not releasing anything. In that period, you get people to move away, and their attachment to the franchise dissipates a little bit.”
Instead of working on a full sequel for Final Fantasy XV, the development team decided to work on shorter, story-based installments for the Final Fantasy XV universe, as we’ve seen in the episodic DLCs that focus on Noctis’ buddies, as well as the Comrades expansion that allows players to make their own avatars and play via online multiplayer.
Tabata shared a little more, but keep in mind that there are some light spoilers in the comments below:
“What we’re trying to do with that is to depict that missing 10 years of history right at the end of the story,” Tabata said in reference to the late chapter in Final Fantasy XV.
He continued, “If we had tried to do that as a traditional, full-scale sequel, that would have been very difficult, but it works really well in [keeping] that continued relationship with fans.”
Again, this isn’t the first time Square Enix and Hajime Tabata said that they won’t be doing a sequel to Final Fantasy XV. Back in September 2013, the director said that he would like to develop new IPs for seniors, as he hopes to create games that thoroughly satisfies himself as he gets older.
Final Fantasy XV is available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is headed to PC in early 2018 and is getting a Pocket Edition for smartphones this fall.
