Final Fantasy 15's previously leaked launch date is now official, confirmed by Square Enix during a special event where it also unveiled it latest "Stand By Me" trailer.

Today has been absolute mayhem for the Final Fantasy community, particularly for those excited for Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix held a special event for its upcoming RPG, the first major title in the franchise since Final Fantasy XIV back in 2010 (or maybe it's 2013 relaunch). After a leak revealing Final Fantasy XV's release date went out this morning, many fans had low expectations for the event. Oh, were they wrong.

Final Fantasy XV's release date was indeed officially revealed to be September 30, 2016. From there, Square Enix had several other major Final Fantasy XV announcements left to make. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is a full-scale move release made entirely in CG, naturally. Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV is a five-episode anime will be released online leading up to the title's arrival. And, of course, Platinum Demo - Final Fantasy XV, the latest demo for the game. But wait, there's more! The demo is available right now on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

For those that can't get to their video game console at the moment, Square Enix had a more immediate reward to take in. Titled, "Reclaim Your Throne," the near 3-minute trailer features a cover of "Stand By Me" performed by Florence + The Machine. There's humor, there's brotherhood, there's a Behemoth, there's Audi product placement, and there's a skyscraper-tall Titan seemingly crushing our protagonist like a bug. It's ridiculous and really embodies what fans can look forward to in Final Fantasy XV.

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Along with the several major announcements and the trailer, Square Enix snuck in a good number of smaller details and reveals. Several members of the voice cast were introduced, including Sean Bean, Aaron Paul, and Lena Headley. The official Final Fantasy XV cover artwork from Hironobu Sakaguchi was unveiled, showing a particularly fantastical scene that may never be fully explained. As well as several gameplay functions were unveiled, including chocobo riding, magic techniques, new battle mechanics and the aforementioned Titan summon.

Two premium editions for Final Fantasy XV were also shown, seeing as with an official release date fans may as well start pre-ordering. The first is a relatively tame $89.99 USD Deluxe Edition, featuring the game and the Kingsglaive film in a steelbook case (with "Royal Raiment" DLC). Then there's the Ultimate Collector's Edition. This sucker is $269.99 USD, includes game, Kingsglaive, the Brotherhood anime, the official soundtrack (which includes music from game, movie, and anime), a hard-cover art book, and an exclusive variant Noctis PLAY ARTS -KAI- action figure. Oh, and DLC junk too. There are only 30,000 of these things available and only through the Square Enix Online Store. It's been so long since a major Final Fantasy title though, that I bet they'll sell very quickly.

It should be obvious now why Square Enix has remained so secretive regarding Final Fantasy XV in recent years. They weren't only planning the launch of a game, but also of a major film and an anime at the same time. Aligning the release of those things is no simple task – just releasing a game is hard on its own. And now that Square Enix has these projects lined up, it went ahead and organized an event just to tell fans all about it. There's still 6 months left to build hype, too, and I doubt the demo is that long.

Final Fantasy XV is planned for release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 starting September 30, 2016. Those anxious to play now can pick up the brand new demo, Platinum Demo - Final Fantasy XV, from either console's online storefront right now though. Those who complete the demo will unlock the Carbuncle summon DLC for the full game at launch.