Today, Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy XV has a new director.

Originally announced in 2006 as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, the game was rebranded as Final Fantasy XV last year. The game is being directed by Hajime Tabata, the director of Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Type-0 HD.


"This move allows Tetsuya Nomura to focus his full efforts as the director of other highly anticipated titles, including Kingdom Hearts III," Square Enix said in an official statement.

Continuing, Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda said:

In reviewing our development structure, we have decided to assign Hajime Tabata as the new director for Final Fantasy XV. Currently, Tabata and the entire development team are working, whole-heartedly, towards completing the production of Final Fantasy XV and ensuring the delivery of the highest quality Final Fantasy title to date. We invite every one of our fans to view the fruits of our labor through Final Fantasy XV's demo, and promise to present a game that further surpasses expectations when the finished product is released. As the director of Final Fantasy XV, Tetsuya Nomura has mainly worked on the original concept for the story and universe in addition to creating the characters. Hereafter, he will be focusing his efforts on the production of titles that can only be made possible by Nomura, himself, and delivering products that exceed the quality of past titles, starting with another one of his representative projects, Kingdom Hearts III. Square Enix will continue to work on these titles with the best staff formation in an effort to deliver them to everyone as soon as possible and appreciates your continued support.


A demo download voucher for Final Fantasy XV will be included with the Final Fantasy Type-0 release for both the PS4 and the Xbox One. The demo is titled Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae and, according to Square Enix, "the demo includes elements from the opening sections of the full game, but alters story progression and more to create a unique first-play experience."

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD will be released on March 17, 2015 in North America, March 19, 2015 in Japan, and March 20, 2015 in Europe.

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