Final Fantasy XV director says it would take more than a year to bring it to the PC

Is Final Fantasy XV coming to the PC? "Maybe," we said back in February, based on a few fluffy bits of code found in the Final Fantasy XV Uncovered website. I asked Square Enix about it in August (because they keep sending me press releases) and was told nothing more than, "We have only announced the game for Xbox One and PlayStation 4." Vida Extra's interview with director Hajime Tabata doesn't clarify the point any further, but it does indicate that if a PC release is coming, it will take quite awhile to happen.

"Not talking about something real, just an idea, if we worked on a PC version of what I have very clear [in mind] is that we would work to provide a better version of what we have now on consoles," Tabata said [translated from Spanish] when asked about the "unlikely event," in the words of the interviewer, of a PC release. "We could say that something like this would take us more than a year. We should work to adapt the engine, which is very laborious, and from there to develop its course."

The statement echoes Tabata's comments from back in April, when he said he had a "more technically developed" version of FFXV in mind for PC, with extra content and features that had to be left out of the console versions. "This would be an opportunity to release a version far superior in terms of quality and tech," he said at the time, although that would mean that development would have to "start from scratch by doing research of what would be the best technology to use."

To my reading, the evolution of his statements, from "This is what I'd like to do" to "This is what I would do" makes me think that the appropriate wheels are turning, or at the very least that Square Enix is giving the matter some serious thought. It's too bad that we have to wait—and again, that assumes that it's going to happen at all—but if it means a better all-around game (and, since we're speculating, maybe some thrown-in DLC), then I'd call it a fair trade.

Thanks, PCGamesN.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.