Among the fanbase, the latest addition Square-Enix’s long-running Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XV, has been met with rather polarizing reviews ever since its original release. Just today, however, more distasteful news has been presented, much to the chagrin of those who have still been holding on to some sliver of hope.
Akio Ofuji, the global brand director for Final Fantasy XV, announced on Thursday that the game’s director, Hajime Tabata, has resigned from both Square-Enix and its subsidiary studio Luminous Productions, which was primarily responsible for Final Fantasy XV’s development, on October 31.
According to a letter the director himself wrote, he has stated that he is working on a new project and has founded his own business to work on it.
To rub salt into the wound, it was also announced that Square-Enix has cancelled the development on the previously announced “Episode Aranea“,”Episode Lunafreya“, and “Episode Noctis” DLC. Production for “Episode Ardyn” is ongoing, with a planned release for March 2019 alongside a short prequel animation that will debut before the said DLC is released.
Ofuji stated that the reason for the cancellation was due to the company deciding to focus its efforts in the production of a new “AAA” title.
Final Fantasy XV went on sale worldwide for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in November 2016. The game received a Royal Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One on March 6. The new release includes the previously released Season Pass DLC, as well as other features. The Windows Edition also launched on the same day. The game’s Pocket Edition for iOS and Android launched on February 9 and also just received HD re-releases for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in September.