Final Fantasy 15 Director Discusses Upcoming Single-Player Updates And DLC

Square Enix has announced its DLC plans for Final Fantasy XV, which include a series of single-player episodes focusing on Noctis' companions. The company has also announced it will be providing "gameplay enhancements" addressing chapter 13, specifically.

In a recent interview with US Gamer, Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata went into more detail about the changes coming to the game, and why fans should be excited, not concerned.

"The fans who have grown accustomed to playing traditional Final Fantasy games may feel uneasy about this unfamiliar initiative," he conceded. "That said, I personally believe the approach to updating single-player games, as we are doing with this title, will continue on in the future as a new trend." The company will be creating brand-new single-player content that allows players to not only learn more about Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto, but to control them as playable characters for the first time.

As well as the paid DLC, the game will also receive free updates which will enhance and improve it over time. Chapter 13 has been highlighted as an area that will receive significant change. Does this acknowledgment that chapter 13 requires improvement mean it was rushed? Or are these changes a response to unexpected player feedback to specific design decisions made by the team? "The direction of chapter 13's content was a deliberate decision made by the development team," Tabata said. "That said, the amount of stress inflicted on the player while running through this chapter was greater than we had anticipated. We believe resolving this issue will naturally lead to a better gameplay experience."

The interview concludes with Tabata opting not to choose a favorite child. "It is very difficult for me to select the 'best boy,'" he laughed. "It goes to show how much I insisted we create the four characters as a team from the start to the end. As a result, I think each character is charming and likeable in their own way. But because of this, I am also now unable to select the 'best boy.'"

Final Fantasy XV is currently celebrating the Moogle Chocobo Carnival in-game, as well as the fact that it was the second-best selling game in the US for 2016, having shipped over 6 million copies.