Final Fantasy XV has had possibly the most protracted, tortured development cycle in the history of gaming. Over a decade in the making, with multiple development team reassignments, temporary suspensions in development, changes in directors and directions, and even the game’s title, and here we are- right now, Final Fantasy XV is tentatively slated to launch some time next year, though a lot of people simply don’t believe that.
They have good reason to not believe that, too. Beyond just the precedence with this game, and with Square Enix in general, the game, from what we have seen, simply does not look like it is in any state to release any time soon- or even in a year. However, a Final Fantasy XV programmer recently took to the game’s forum to explain the game’s development process.
He explained that the game can now be played start to end- and that even though it is rough right now, this was the most important part of the development process, since it provides a framework for developers to work with. From here, each element can be polished, gameplay can be adjusted, and various high-level features can be added. The full picture is important, because you can’t work on more sophisticated or elaborate pictures unless you have some idea of where in the bigger picture they go, he said.
With the bulk of the main development work now finished, the team can work on refining and polishing the game, and getting it ready for release.
Sounds like it may hit the 2016 release date after all, then.
(Thanks, DualShockers, for the translation and summary)