Square Enix quietly acknowledged a major milestone on November 29, 2025, marking nine years since Final Fantasy XV launched worldwide. The game that started as Final Fantasy Versus XIII in 2006 endured one of gaming’s most infamous development cycles before finally releasing on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2016. Despite its troubled production, FFXV sold 5 million copies on day one and eventually crossed 10 million units, proving that the decade-long wait hadn’t completely killed fan interest in Noctis and his bros’ road trip across Eos.
From Versus XIII to XV
Final Fantasy XV’s story begins in 2006, when Square Enix unveiled the Fabula Nova Crystallis project at E3. This ambitious initiative included three games sharing loose mythological connections: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Agito XIII, and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Tetsuya Nomura, fresh off Kingdom Hearts II, directed Versus XIII with a vision of darker themes, Shakespearean tragedy, and action-oriented gameplay that departed from the mainline series formula.
The problem was that Versus XIII existed mostly as ambition and concept art. Development couldn’t properly begin because the team and the game engine were trapped supporting Final Fantasy XIII, which faced its own significant production challenges. By 2008, Nomura admitted in interviews that most of his team was helping XIII while Versus languished with only artists creating concept visuals and him working on story. The game announced in 2006 was still doing basic engine tests three years later, borrowing assets from XIII just to create tech demos.
This pattern continued for years. Trailers appeared at gaming events showing increasingly impressive visuals and expanded scope, but actual playable progress remained minimal. By 2012, Square Enix made a decisive call. They rebranded Versus XIII as Final Fantasy XV, moved it from PlayStation 3 to eighth-generation hardware, and replaced Nomura as director with Hajime Tabata. This wasn’t just a name change but a complete restructuring of the project to actually ship a finished product.
What Changed Under Tabata
Tabata inherited a mess. Years of development had produced concepts, story outlines, and visual direction, but turning that into a shippable game required tough decisions. Major story elements got revised or cut entirely. Stella Nox Fleuret, the original female lead, was replaced by Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, whose character combined elements from several Versus XIII concepts. Noctis’s personality shifted from an entitled prince with extraordinary powers to the more reserved character players eventually met.
The development team created Final Fantasy XV in approximately three years under Tabata’s direction, an incredibly compressed timeline for a game of that scope. The rush showed. The game launched missing crucial cutscenes that provided context for major story beats. The infamous Chapter 13 felt unfinished and drastically different in tone from the rest of the experience. The final dungeon didn’t exist at launch. Square Enix addressed these issues through patches and the Royal Edition, adding missing cutscenes and the complete final dungeon as free updates, but the damage to critical reception was already done.
Despite these problems, FFXV did many things right. The open-world road trip structure created genuine moments of camaraderie between Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto. Driving the Regalia across Lucis while listening to classic Final Fantasy soundtracks felt magical. The real-time combat system, while divisive, represented a bold evolution from traditional turn-based mechanics. The game looked gorgeous, pushing graphical boundaries and delivering on the visual spectacle players expected from Final Fantasy.
Commercial Success Despite Mixed Reception
Final Fantasy XV achieved impressive commercial results despite its flawed execution. The day-one sales of 5 million copies broke even on development costs immediately, a crucial milestone for a project that had consumed a decade and massive resources. The game eventually surpassed 10 million sales worldwide, though it took five years of continuous support to reach that mark.
Square Enix went all-in on supporting FFXV post-launch. They released multiple DLC episodes focusing on individual party members, created a standalone multiplayer mode called Comrades, produced a mobile version called Pocket Edition, launched a pixel art chibi game, and even made Brotherhood, an anime series providing character backstories. The Kingsglaive movie released alongside the game to explain events happening parallel to the main story, though its quality and necessity remained debatable.
This aggressive content strategy kept FFXV in conversations and gradually sold additional copies, but internal reports suggested Square Enix viewed it as struggling compared to expectations. The game required five years of post-launch support to add just 5 million sales beyond the initial 5 million day-one burst. In contrast, Final Fantasy XVI, despite lower initial sales, maintained steadier momentum without requiring the same level of extensive post-launch investment.
The Nomura Shadow
Tetsuya Nomura never fully let go of his original Versus XIII vision. Elements of what that game might have been surfaced in Kingdom Hearts III through the character Yozora, who bears striking resemblance to the original Noctis designs. The Verum Rex fictional game shown in Kingdom Hearts represents Nomura’s way of preserving his abandoned concepts, though whether this benefits Kingdom Hearts remains contentious among fans.
The director swap created an awkward situation where Nomura moved to Kingdom Hearts III development, which then faced its own delays and challenges. Meanwhile, Tabata and his team scrambled to salvage XV and ship it in reasonable condition. Neither director got to fully realize their vision, and fans were left wondering what might have been if Versus XIII had proper support from the beginning or if XV had more development time before its 2016 release window.
What FFXV Means Nine Years Later
Final Fantasy XV occupies a strange place in the franchise history. It’s simultaneously a cautionary tale about scope creep and mismanagement, and proof that even deeply troubled projects can find audiences if core elements connect with players. The brotherhood between the four main characters resonated strongly enough that many fans overlook the messy storytelling and incomplete sections.
The game also marked a turning point for Square Enix’s approach to Final Fantasy. The mixed reception and complicated production convinced the company to be more realistic about project scopes and timelines. Final Fantasy VII Remake was split into multiple parts rather than attempting one massive release. Final Fantasy XVI focused on a more contained narrative rather than sprawling open-world ambitions. The lessons learned from XV’s troubled development influenced how Square Enix manages flagship projects.
For players who experienced it, FFXV remains memorable despite its flaws. The image of the Regalia driving into the sunset, Stand by Me playing over the credits, and the camping scenes where the gang reviewed photos from their journey created emotional moments that transcended the game’s technical and narrative shortcomings. That’s perhaps the ultimate testament to what FFXV achieved: becoming beloved not because of perfect execution, but because of the genuine connections it fostered between players and characters.
FAQs
When did Final Fantasy XV release?
Final Fantasy XV launched worldwide on November 29, 2016, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game later came to PC in 2018 and received various ports including mobile and cloud versions.
How long was Final Fantasy XV in development?
The project began as Final Fantasy Versus XIII in 2006, making the total timeline about 10 years. However, only the final three years under director Hajime Tabata represented active full-production development on what became Final Fantasy XV. Much of the earlier period involved waiting for resources and engine development.
Why did Versus XIII become Final Fantasy XV?
Square Enix rebranded Versus XIII as Final Fantasy XV in 2012 and moved it to eighth-generation consoles. The change accompanied replacing director Tetsuya Nomura with Hajime Tabata and restructuring the project to actually complete and ship the game after years of stalled progress.
How many copies did Final Fantasy XV sell?
Final Fantasy XV sold 5 million copies on its first day and eventually surpassed 10 million total sales worldwide. However, reaching that milestone took five years of continuous post-launch support including DLC, updates, and multiple special editions.
Was Final Fantasy XV successful?
Commercially, yes. The game broke even on day one and became profitable. Critically, reception was mixed. Many praised the characters, world, and moments of brilliance, but criticized incomplete storytelling, uneven pacing, and the clearly rushed final chapters. Square Enix internally viewed it as struggling compared to expectations.
What is Final Fantasy Versus XIII?
Final Fantasy Versus XIII was the original name for what eventually became Final Fantasy XV. Announced in 2006 as part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project, it was directed by Tetsuya Nomura and intended as a darker, more action-oriented Final Fantasy experience. Development challenges led to its transformation into XV in 2012.
Why was FFXV’s development so troubled?
Multiple factors contributed: the game engine wasn’t ready for years, the development team was diverted to support Final Fantasy XIII, project scope kept expanding beyond reasonable limits, and internal studio politics created confusion about priorities. These issues compounded over nearly a decade before Square Enix finally restructured the entire project.
Will there be a Final Fantasy XV sequel?
No official sequel has been announced. Square Enix cancelled the remaining planned DLC episodes in 2018, ending the game’s post-launch content roadmap. Director Hajime Tabata left the company shortly after, and Square Enix shifted focus to other Final Fantasy projects.
Conclusion
Nine years after launch, Final Fantasy XV remains one of gaming’s most fascinating what-ifs. A project that consumed a decade, survived complete restructuring, shipped incomplete, and still managed to sell 10 million copies while creating genuinely memorable moments for millions of players. The road trip across Eos that Noctis and his companions took mirrored the journey of the game itself: messy, sometimes frustrating, frequently beautiful, and ultimately worth experiencing despite obvious flaws. Square Enix’s quiet acknowledgment of the ninth anniversary suggests they’ve moved on to new chapters in the Final Fantasy saga, but for those who stood by Noctis through the long night, the memories of that imperfect adventure continue resonating long after the final campfire faded to black.