'Final Fantasy 15' release date announcement expected in March

Final Fantasy XVSquare-Enix

The release date for "Final Fantasy XV" has for some time been a mystery to gamers. Most recently the game has been teased to release sometime in 2016 but no specific release window has been given yet. According to a report from Famitsu (via Nova Crystallis), game director Hajime Tabata will announce its release date this March.

"This year is the year we'll release 'Final Fantasy XV,'" Tabata explained in the publication. "Currently, we've decided on all of its specifications and the beta version is under production so we can shift into the debug phase. We'll show the real 'XV' during the release date announcement this March."

According to the report, more details regarding the game will also be revealed during Square-Enix's official Active Time Report, which will be later this month. It is speculated that the company will reveal the changes the game has gone through now that it is finishing its beta phase, which is set to be vastly different from the current demo available.

Given that the announcement is in March, it is likely that "Final Fantasy XV" will not release until the latter half of the year, with a fall or even a late winter release more likely than not. Tabata's statements confirmed that the game is still undergoing the debug stage and Square-Enix will still need time to promote and advertise the game internationally.

"Final Fantasy XV" has been in development since the mid-2000's when it began as "Final Fantasy Versus XIII," a game set in the same universe as "Final Fantasy XIII." However, since it's reveal, the game has gone through numerous changes and its former director, Tetsuya Nomura, was taken off for him to focus on "Kingdom Hearts III."

By 2013 the game had officially become "Final Fantasy XV" and thus far has only released a short playable demo for the PS4. "Final Fantasy XV" is also expected to release for the PC and will be the first game in the franchise to see a global release on the same day.