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Final Fantasy 15 “quite far into development”

With the release of Lightning Returns, all eyes are on Final Fantasy 13 this week – or at least they are if those eyes belong to a Japanese RPG fan – but developer/publisher Square is already looking ahead to the next entry in the main series.

That would be Final Fantasy 15, which began life as Final Fantasy 13 Versus before being stripped back and rebuilt as an entirely new entry. Despite the late change of plan the game is already deep in development, according to series producer Yoshinori Kitase. He was responding to a question from Videogamer.com, asking if the game would be competing with Square's other big title, Kingdom Hearts 3, for studio resources.

“We can’t give too much information,” Kitase said, “but certainly looking at Final Fantasy XV, it’s not as if it’s in competition with Kingdom Hearts 3 for resources or anything like that. It’s quite far into development now and it is being given a very high priority within the company itself, but that doesn’t mean Kingdom Hearts isn’t.”

He also clarified that while Final Fantasy 15 is no longer tied to Final Fantasy 13 in gameplay terms, it will be retaining some of the story elements. “Right from the start when we first it announced it as Versus XIII, the game itself was backed up by the same Crystal legend: the Fabulla Nova Crystallis mythology that underpins the whole of the XIII series,” says Kitase. “So even though it’s not necessarily the same universe or the same game, they’re all linked and underpinned by the backdrop of that legend.”

“Now it’s moved on – obviously the title’s been changed to Final Fantasy XV – but that hasn’t actually changed. The story and the world is still going to be linked and backed up by that. So yes, there is the link between XIII and XV, and they both share that mythology as a backdrop and a starting point.”

Final Fantasy 15 doesn't have a release date yet, but is in development for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.