Final Fantasy XV - the game, the anime, the CG film, and everything you need to know about the expanded FF universe

Ten years is a long time, even by games industry standards, but the arduous wait for Final Fantasy XV is almost over.

After redesigns, renames, drifts into obscurity, a change of director and a decade of raising and subsequently dashing fan expectations, Square Enix has finally unveiled its grand release plans.

All was revealed at the Final Fantasy Uncovered event this week, in where Square Enix ever-so-cleverly made fifteen separate announcements about the game and its orbiting media.

To save you wading through the live stream archive, we’ve got the most important info right here – so you don’t miss a beat in the run up to launch day

mark your calendars

The biggest news is also the one destined to end the suffering of fans worldwide: the release date. Final Fantasy XV will hit the shelves on September 30.

That might sound like a long way off, but six months pales in comparison to the 120 month wait already endured.

Given Sony’s massive support there’ll be no surprise that it will launch on PS4, but XV is also on the way to Xbox One. Pre-orders are currently hovering around £44 on PS4 and £47.99 on Xbox One.

The Final Fantasy Ultimate Collector’s Edition is also up for grabs, but it’s for serious FF fans only.

The gargantuan offering includes a Noctis action figure, a Kingsglaive blu-ray, Brotherhood blu-ray, 192 page artbook, soundtrack, and a smattering of in-game content, all wrapped in a swanky box.

That’s a lot of swag, but the attached price is equally extravagant: £189. Square Enix is only making 30,000 boxes available worldwide, so they’re going to be tough to track down too.

PC gamers should feel a little miffed though; Square Enix says a Windows port isn’t in the works.

Brotherly love

While you’re waiting for XV to arrive, there’s a host of non-gaming content that’ll set up the new Final Fantasy universe and fill you in on what the central characters have been up to.

First up, Brotherhood, a five-part anime series. It’ll focus on lead character Noctis and his three travelling companions.

The first part clocks in at ten minutes and you can watch it right here, or click through to see it on YouTube.

Next up, a CG animated feature film. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV should drop before the game does, and Square Enix has spared no expense with the cast.

Lena Headey and Sean Bean from Game of Thrones and Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad have all lent their voices to the production.

Mobiles and tablets are getting in on the action too. Justice Monsters Five is a playable mini-game within FFXV proper, but you’ll be able to cart it around in your pocket as well.

Get a taster now

A host of other reveals made it into the verbose two-hour presentation. We got a detailed look at the game world, along with more glimpses of the updated combat system.

You can watch the video in its entirety here, but if you don’t fancy trawling through the whole thing for the best bits, it’s worth checking out the new trailer. Noctis rather spectacularly reveals a new summon – Titan.

If simply can’t wait to get your hands on the game after all this teasing, you’re in luck. A fresh Final Fantasy XV demo titled Platinum landed on the PlayStation store after the event wrapped up.

We’re going to have a more detailed hands-on soon, but TL;DR – It’s beautiful, yet achingly short. Only you can decide whether it will keep you sane, or make your FF cravings even worse.

About

When not earning a living as England's only Jafar look-a-like, Justin spends his time surigcally attached to a gaming PC and keeping you up to date with everything in the land of button bashing. Other specialist interests include mobile computing, VR, biofeedback, wearable tech and the perfect bowl of cereal.