Many of the entries to the Final Fantasy series have kept fans anxiously awaiting their release, but none have pushed their release back quite as far as Final Fantasy XV. Originally announced in 2006 as a spin-off of Final Fantasy XIII, the game evolved from there to become its own standalone title. However, while nearly ten years have passed since that announcement, the game still remains in development hell.

Square Enix finally began to get the ball rolling earlier this year with the Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae demo, but they also refrained from revealing anything to do with the game at E3 2015. While hopes of the release date being announced at PAX Prime 2015 have been dashed, there is some new info regarding the game's release.

Speaking at a panel at PAX Prime, director Hajime Tabata publicly announced that Final Fantasy XV's release date would be announced in March of next year. Unfortunately, that's still months away, and the only hint gamers have at this time is that they're planning a worldwide, simultaneous release sometime in 2016. Interestingly enough, rather than announcing the game's release date at a general gaming event, Square Enix will be making the announcement at their own special event during March. The name of this event and whether it centers solely on FFXV or multiple Square Enix titles is unknown at this time.

Since Square Enix won't even be announcing the release date until the first quarter of the year is over, it's possible that they may be aiming for the holiday season of 2016. After the extreme delay of Final Fantasy XV, pushing it from one console generation to the next and revealing very little about the title, fans are probably disappointed, but not surprised at this point. Admittedly, Square Enix has their hands full with a wide variety of titles, including Rise of the Tomb Raider, updates to their MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, and the Remake of Final Fantasy VII. Even so, teasing fans by announcing the release date of a release date is a bit cruel.

While it's impossible to speak for everyone, one can imagine that most Final Fantasy faithfuls would be willing to wait however long it takes for Final Fantasy XV so long as it's an amazing game. Final Fantasy fans have been highly divided over recent titles, feeling that recent games have lost touch with their roots, and moved too far away from the turn-based RPG combat system the games used to center around.

Final Fantasy XIII and Lightning Returns both received lukewarm reviews, and it's up to the creators to find the balance between creating new innovations and alienating the fans that made the series flourish. Final Fantasy XV may not be able to please everyone, but hopefully it'll be the most polished Final Fantasy we've seen in a long time.

Final Fantasy XV is estimated to release in 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Source: NeoGAF