Game director Hajime Tabata believed he was misquoted when he spoke about the future of “Final Fantasy XV” at GamesCom 2017. At the Twitch panel, Tabata teased that “there’s another certain console out there people may be thinking of. [It] Sounds a little bit like you guys, your name – ‘Twitch’,” referring to the panel’s name.
As suggested by Tabata, fans thought that Square Enix already gave a go-signal for the game director and his team to look into the possibility of bringing “Final Fantasy XV” to Nintendo Switch. Just recently, Hajime Tabata clarified this statement.
No 'FFXV' on Switch, for now
In a recent interview at the Tokyo Game Show 2017, the game director clarified what he teased earlier about “FFXV.” As posted by Japanese website Famitsu (via Google Translate), there are currently no plans to release “Final Fantasy XV” on the Nintendo Switch.
But while there are no current plans to release “Final Fantasy XV” on the newest Nintendo console, Tabata revealed that he was doing a technical testing. The game director would like to know whether the current game engine is compatible with Nintendo Switch or should they use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine.
Tabata’s latest message is a straight-forward answer – Square Enix does not have an official stand as to making “FFXV” available on Nintendo Switch any time in the future.
However, he took it upon himself to test the compatibility of “Final Fantasy XV” created using the current game engine on Nintendo Switch.
Hajime Tabata: "There are no plans to release Final Fantasy XV on the Nintendo Switch" https://t.co/IyR9BNOxSW pic.twitter.com/4CnpdSfjQL
— Japanese Nintendo (@japanese3ds) September 24, 2017
While he did not mention about the result of his testing, Tabata does not want to deny any possibility in the future.
For now, Tabata wanted to focus on the release the “Final Fantasy XV” Pocket Edition later this year and Windows Edition in 2018.
Next on 'FFXV'
As posted on Reddit.com, the third and last DLC of “FFXV” will be Episode Ignis, completing the side stories of Noctis’ three companions. Like the two earlier DLCs – Episodes Gladiolus and Prompto, Episode Ignis will also run parallel to the main story.
The final trailer of Episode Ignis is expected to arrive this month. According to the report, a dedicated team was tasked to work on developing Episode Ignis. But while Episode Ignis is said o be the final DLC of “FFXV,” Tabata said that they plan on expanding the story of the game by 2018 though he did not elaborate any details.
Tabata acknowledges the fact that there are some aspects lacking on “FFXV.” As requested by gamers and fans, game director Hajime Tabata promised that he and his team will work on filling up missing information, developing backstories and the lore of the “FFXV” world as a whole.