Final Fantasy 15 game director Hajime Tabata goes on record to say that Square Enix has no current plans for a sequel, though that could change in the future.

The Final Fantasy franchise exists in a very curious state right now, with Final Fantasy 15 on the verge of launching on November 29. 2016 marks 10 years of the game's development, which began under the title of Final Fantasy Versus 13. It has been 7 years since the last main-series title, Final Fantasy 13, was launched, but the years between were littered with sequels and spin-offs. Fans, naturally, are wondering if the next several years will be similarly filled with Final Fantasy 15 sequels. The answer is apparently no, for now.

In an interview with GameSpot, Final Fantasy 15 game director Hajime Tabata provided a surprisingly candid response to a question regarding potential sequels:

"To answer the question of whether we have any intention of making further games with Noctis in them after or continuing the story after Final Fantasy 15 is out, I can tell you we don't currently have any plans for that."

Reading between the lines, Tabata clearly states that there are no plans for direct sequels -- whether they star protagonist Noctis or just continue the story. That leaves a bit of wiggle room for other games set in the same world, but these days all Final Fantasy titles are tied to the same universe in one way or another. Tabata also made clear that plans could always change, but that decision would likely come from elsewhere in the company.

"There may be a call for it business-wise, but personally from our point of view, the way we see it is there are people that have been waiting for this game for a very long time now, and we want them to keep enjoying it for as long as possible."

That said, Noctis and friends could grow in popularity similar to Final Fantasy 7. If that should be the case, then don't be surprised to see Square Enix suddenly decide a sequel is needed and as a matter of fact has always been the plan.

As excited as fans of Final Fantasy are that another main series single-player RPG title is being released, they're likely equally as excited about Square Enix already planning on new adventures. The engine and technology played a large part in Final Fantasy 15's development, so seeing the studio get to spread its wings is particularly intriguing. Even Tabata seems ready for whatever comes next.

"In terms of what we want to do with the technology, we want to use that technological foundation that we've built up with Final Fantasy 15 and move on to do something completely new using that know-how and that base." [. . .] "We're going to look into new directions with it."

For the time being, as refreshing as Tabata's comments may be, it's difficult to imagine Square Enix not opting for direct sequels to Final Fantasy 15 like they did for Final Fantasy 13. Just look at all of the supporting content Square put together for this RPG: a movie, Kingsglaive, an anime, Brotherhood, a beat 'em up arcade game, A King's Tale, and other media including a mobile pinball game. That's a lot of supportive marketing for a single game with no plans for a sequel.

For now, however, hopefully fans can rest easy, dreaming of another 5-year era like 1997-2001. Those years included the launch of Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, Final Fantasy 9 and Final Fantasy 10. In fact, it was the studio's shift towards sequels (Final Fantasy X-2), supporting media (The Spirits Within), and MMO development that changed the direction and development of the franchise since. Writing off Final Fantasy 15 sequels already is a great plan.

Final Fantasy 15 is scheduled to launch on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One starting November 29.

Source: GameSpot