The rumors of Final Fantasy Versus XIII's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Announced six years ago, Versus XIII stands as the only unreleased game in Square Enix's Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy initiative, which also includes Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Final Fantasy Type-0.

Reports surfaced late last week claiming that the long-overdue game had been quietly cancelled, and that work completed on Versus XIII would be used for another, as-yet-unannounced project. Not so, says Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada, who took to Twitter to reassure fans that work on Final Fantasy Versus XIII continues.

Unlike Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2, which were both directed by Motomu Toriyama and produced by Yoshinori Kitase, Versus XIII is under the direction of Tetsuya Nomura, who has primarily busied himself with the Kingdom Hearts games for the last several years. Just before the Japanese release of Kindgom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance last March (the game is due July 31st in North America), Nomura promised that more Versus XIII news would be coming soon. That news never arrived, and Final Fantasy Versus XIII was a no-show at E3 2012.

Between the years-long development process, and Nomura's ongoing commitment to Kingdom Hearts, last week's report that Versus XIII had been cancelled was easy to believe -- that is, until Wada stepped in to set the record straight (translation by Kotaku).

"There's someone making a false rumor that Versus was cancelled. Haha...Just a minute ago, the regular Versus meeting ended. If you saw the presentation of the city, it'd knock you off your feet~lol"

Perhaps Wada should share some of that presentation with eager fans, who have had practically no exposure to Final Fantasy Versus XIII since the game's official trailer was released in January of 2011. For that matter, while it is reassuring to know that regular Versus XIII development meetings continue to take place, that is all that has been confirmed. No indication has been given of how far development has progressed, or of when Versus XIII might finally be released. Come one, Square, give us something -- a new trailer, a screenshot, a timetable, anything.

The clock is ticking on current consoles, and Square Enix already has tools in place for the next generation, as evidenced by the stunning Luminous Engine trailer that debuted at E3 2012. Nomura, meanwhile, is allegedly eager to get started on Kingdom Hearts 3, though he has previously indicated that his team can't begin production on the game until work on Final Fantasy Versus XIII is complete. Will Nomura and company be able to deliver Versus XIII before the next generation arrives, and what happens if they don't?

Ranters, are you relieved to know that Final Fantasy Versus XIII is still in development, or would you rather that Nomura move on to Kingdom Hearts 3?

Final Fantasy Versus XIII is currently in development.

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Source: Kotaku